THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE 

SINAI   AND  EGYPT 


EDITED  BY 

COLONEL  WILSON,  R.E.,  C.B.,  RR.S. 

FORMERLY  ENGINEER  TO  THE  PALESTINE  EXPLORATION  SOCIETY 


ASSISTED    BY   THE   MOST   EMINENT   PALESTINE  EXPLORERS 

ETC. 


WITH  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS  ON  STEEL  AND  WOOD  FROM  ORIGINAL  DRAWINGS 
BY  HARRY  FENN  AND  J.  D.  WOODWARD 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES,  OR  FOUR  DIVISIONS 

DIVISION  I 


NEW  YORK 
D.    APPLETON     AND  COMPANY 

I,    3,    AND    5    BOND  STREET 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY, 
i88i. 


%5 


ion 


v.l 


CONTENTS. 


DIVISION  ONE. 


PAGE 


INTRODUCTION.    By  the  Very  Rev.  DEAN  STANLEY,  D.  D   vii 

JERUSALEM.    By  COL.  WLLSON,  R.  E.,  C.  B.,  F.  R.  S   .  i 

Situation  of  Jerusalem.— View  from  the  Mount  of  Olives. — Walls  and  Gates  of  the  City.— The  Citadel.— Herod's 
Palace. — Tower  of  David. — Tomb  of  David. — The  Holy  Sepulchre. — The  "Holy  Fire." — The  Via  Dolorosa. 
— Markets,  Bazaars,  and  Streets  of  Jerusalem. — The  Temple  Platform. — Excavations  and  Discoveries. — The 
Dome  of  the  Rock. — Water  Supply  for  the  Temple. — Herod's  Temple. — Ancient  Walls. — Garden  of 
Gethsemane. — The  Mount  of  Olives. — Church  of  the  Ascension. — Be^hphage. — Bethany. — Tomb  of  Lazarus. 
— The  Road  from  Bethany  to  Jerusalem. — Siloam. — Cemeteries,  Jewish,  Christian,  and  Moslem. — Descrip- 
tion of  various  kinds  of  Ancient  Tombs. — Water  Supply :  Cisterns,  Pools,  and  Aqueducts. — Population 
of  Jerusalem. 

BETHLEHEM  AND  THE  NORTH  OF  JUD^A.    By  the  Rev.  CANON  TRISTRAM,  D.D.,  F.R.S.  .       .  121 

From  Jerusalem  to  Bethlehem.— Churches  and  Shrines  of  Bethlehem. — Women  of  Bethlehem. — Relic  Makers. 
— To  Urtas  and  Solomon's  Pools.— Valley  and  Caves  of  Khureitun. — To  Jebel  Fureidis. — Hermit  Life. — 
Convent  of  Mar  Saba. — The  Kedron  Valley. — The  Dead  Sea. — Cities  of  the  Plain. — Ruins  of  Monasteries 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  Valley  of  the  Jordan. — From  Elijah's  Fountain  to  Mount  Quarantania. — Ancient 
Aqueducts. — Jericho. — Fountain  of  'Ain  Duk. — Passes  of  Benjamin. — To  Michmash,  Geba,  Mizpeh,  and 
Gibeon. 

THE  MOUNTAINS  OF  JUDAH  AND  EPHRAIM.    By  LIEUT.  CONDER,  R.  E.    .       .       .       .       .  .193 

Through  the  Pass  of  Beth-horon. — The  Valley  of  Ajalon. — Site  of  Emmaus. — Through  the  "Gate  of  the 
Valley"  to  Abu  Ghosh. — Kolonia  and  'Ain  Karim,  in  the  Wady  Beit  Hanina. — The  Valley  of  Roses. — 
Philip's  Fountain. — Anathoth. — From  Jerusalem  to  Shechem  by  way  of  Beeroth,  Bethel,  Shiloh,  and 
Lebonah.— Wady  Deir  Ballut. — The  Boundary  between  Judtea  and  Samaria. — Oak-trees  of  Syria. — Mount 
Gerizim. — Sacred  Tombs. — The  Plain  of  Mukhnah. — Tomb  of  Phinehas. — Balata. — Jacob's  Well. — Joseph's 
Tomb. 


Digitized  by 

tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2015 

https://archive.org/details/picturesquepales01wils_0 


LIST  OF 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

DIVISION  ONE. 


ENGRAVINGS  ON  STEEL. 

Jerusalem,  from  Scopus   ,      .      .      .      .  Frontispiece 

KUBBET  ES  SaKHRA,  FROM  THE  SOUTH     ..         o  .  Vignette 

Jerusalem  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  face  page  4 

Bethany   89 

The  Mount  of  Olives  from  Mount  Zion    ,      .      .      o      .      .      ,  ,      ,      ,      .            .      .  gg 

Church  of  the  Nativity,  Bethlehem  .      .      .      .      =      .      .      .  .      .      .      ,      ,      ,  .123 

Mar  Saba,  Valley  of  the  Kedron                                             =  148 

The  Plains  of  Jericho,  from  the  West                       =  160 

View  from  Neby  Samwil        0.0....,,.-.  .      .      ,      .      .  188 

Threshing  Corn  201 


ENGRAVINGS  ON  WOOD. 


PAGE 

The  Jaffa  Gate      ........  i 

Entrance  to  the  Citadel        ......  3 

The  Tower  of  David— Phasaelus   .....  5 

The  Mount  of  Olives     .......  8 

The  Southern  Slopes  of  Olivet  and  the  Mountains  of 

Moab   9 

The  Zion  Gate,  or  Gate  of  the  Prophet  David      .       .  10 
The  Tomb  of  David      .       .       .       .       .       .  .11 

Hezekiah's  Pool,  from  the  south  side    .       .       .  -13 
Entrance  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre    ,       .  16 
The  Shrine  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre        .       .       .  .17 

The  Chapel  of  Helena,  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  19 
The  Chapel  in  the  Cave  of  the  Cross    .        .       .  .21 

Pilgrims  of  the  Greek  Church  buying  Candles     .       .  22 
Via  Dolorosa — The  Ecce  Homo  Arch  .       .       .  .24 

House  of  Saint  Veronica,  in  the  Via  Dolorosa  .  .  25 
The  Houses  of  the  Rich  and  Poor  Man,  Dives  and 

Lazarus   26 

A  Shoemaker's  Shop,  Jerusalem  .....  27 
Masjed  el  Majahidin — Mosque  of  the  Knights  of  the 

Crescent        ........  30 

A  Grocer's  Shop,  Jerusalem    ,     .       .       .       .  .32 

A  Street  Cafe,  Jerusalem      .       .       .       .       .       •  .  33 

Entrance  to  the  Hospice  of  St.  John  and  Minaret  of 

Omar      .........  35 

Staircase  leading  to  the  Church  of  St.  John  .       .  -37 
The  Street  of  the  Damascus  Gate        .       .       .  .40 

The  Damascus   Gate— Bab  el  Amud   (Gate  of  the 

Column)  41 

The  Waihng-place  of  the  Jews     .       .       .       .  -43 

A  Jewish  Cotton-cleanet       ......  44 

Street  of  the  Gate  of  the  Chain     .       ....  45 


PAGE 


Fountain  of  the  Gate  of  the  Chain— Bab  es  Silsileh  .  48 
The  Summer  Pulpit,  Platform  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  49 
North-west  corner  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  .  .  .52 
Oratories  on  the  west  side  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  .  53 
Old  Cypress-trees  in  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  .  .  -56 
The  Golden  Gate  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  .  .  -57 
Interior  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  .....  59 
The  Cave  under  the  Great  Rock  on  Mount  Moriah  .  60 
The  Facade  of  the  Mosque  el  Aksa,  Jerusalem  .  .61 
The  Platform  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  .  .  .63 
Birket  Israil— The  Pool  of  Bethesda  .  .  .  .66 
Mount  Scopus  from  St.  Stephen's  Gate  .  .  -67 
In  the  Mohammedan  Cemetery,  Jerusalem  .  ,  .69 
Khan  ez  Zait,  the  great  Bazaar  of  the  Oil  Merchants  .  71 
Robinson's  Arch,  Jerusalem  .  .  .  .  .72 
The  Hill  of  Evil  Counsel,  from  the  south  wall,  Jerusalem  73 
The  South  Wall  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  .  .  .75 
The  Upper  Pool  of  Siloam    .       .       .       .       .  -77 

The  Lower  Pool  of  Siloam  79 

The  Jewish  Cemetery  in  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat  .  82 
Absalom's  Pillar,  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat  .  .  .83 
The  Village  of  Siloam  from  the  Tomb  of  St.  James     .  85 

The  Garden  of  Gethsemane  86 

Entrance  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Virgin      .  87 

Exterior  of  the  Golden  Gate  89 

Mosque   and   Church  of  the   Ascension,   Mount  of 

Olives     .       .  90 

Neby  Samwil,  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  .  .  -91 
Traditional  Site  of  Bethphage,  the  House  of  Figs  .  92 
Part  of  the  North  Wall  of  Jerusalem  .  .  .  .93 
The  Quarries  near  to  the  Damascus  Gate  ,  .  .96 
Grotto  of  Jeremiah        ,„       .....  97 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


Kefr  et  Tur,  the  village  on  the  summit  of  Olivet  .  99 
Valley  of  Hinnom,  from  the  North-west  angle  of  the 

city  wall        ........  102 

The  Birket  Mamilla,  commonly  called  the  Upper 

Pool  of  Gihon  102 

Rock  Tombs  north  of  Jerusalem  .  .  .  .103 
The  Citadel  of  Jerusalem  from  the  Valley  of  Hinnom  105 
Saracenic  Fountain  on  the  Aqueduct  from  Solomon's 

Pools  106 

Mount  of  Offence,  from  the  Valley  of  Hinnom    .       .  107 

Aceldama   .110 

Summit  of  the  Hill  of  Evil  Counsel     .       .       .  .110 

The  Valley  of  Hinnom  in 

Caves  in  the  Valley  of  Hinnom,  east  of  Aceldama  .  1 14 
Tophet,  the  lower  portion  of  the  Valley  of  Hinnom  .  115 
Jerusalem  from  the  south    .       .       .       .       .       •  n? 

Bir  Eyub— Job's  Well  120 

Oliv^e  Grove  below  Bir  Eyub  121 

View  of  the  Shepherds'  Field,  from  Bethlehem  .  .124 
In  the  Shepherds'  Field,  Bethlehem    .       .       .  .125 

Rachel's  Tomb  126 

External  S '.airway  of  a  House  at  Bethlehem  .  .  127 
Chapel  of  the  Nativity  in  the  Crypt  of  the  Church  of 

St.  Mary,  Bethlehem  128 

An  example  of  a  Peasant's  Home,  with  its  manger,  in 

a  village  of  Palestine  129 

Bethlehem,  from  the  south-west  .  .  .  -131 
Mother-of-pearl  Workers  of  Bethlehem      .       .  .133 

David's  Well  134 

The  Milk  Grotto,  Bethlehem  135 

Herodium,  or  Frank  Mountain,  from  Bethlehem       .  137 

View  from  the  Frank  Mountain  137 

Valley  of  Urtas  140 

Valley  and  Ruins  of  Khureitun,  from  Cave  of  AduUam  143 

Pools  of  Solomon  145 

The  traditional  Cave  of  AduUam,  at  Khureitun  .       .  147 
Balconies  to  Monks'  Cells,  Mar  Saba  ....  149 

Entrance  to  the  Cave  of  St.  Saba       .       .       .  .150 

Dead  Sea  and  Mountains  of  Moab  from  Mar  Saba     .  152 
St.  Saba's  Palm-tree    .       .       .       .       .       .  -153 

Hermits' Caves  in  the  Chffs  of  the  Kedron  .       .  -155 
Convent  of  Mar  Saba,  from  Brook  Kedron        .       .  158 
Northern  End  of  the  Dead  Sea   .       .       .       .  -159 

Kasr  Hajla,  the  ancient  Beth  Hogla    .       .       .  .159 

Bathing-place  on  the  Jordan  162 

Valley  of  the  Jordan,  from  the  Convent  of  St.  John 

the  Baptist  163 

Banks  of  the  Jordan,  above  the  Convent  of  St.  John 

the  Baptist   .  .165 

Bit  on  the  Plains  of  Jericho  167 

Er  Riha,  the  modern  Jericho  168 

One  of  the  Arches  of  an  Aqueduct  over  the  Wady 

Kelt,  Plains  of  Jericho  169 


PAGE 

Ain  es  Sultan,  the  Sultan's  Spring  .  .  ,  .172 
Mount  Quarantania,  from  the  site  of  Jericho  .  .173 
Ruined  Convent  of  St.  George    .       .       .       .  -175 


Ruins  in  the  Gorge  of  the  Wady  Kelt,  the  Valley  of 

Achor  

Mukmas,    the   ancient    Michmash,    in   the  Wady 


Suweinit  181 

Jeba,  the  ancient  Geba  of  Benjamin    .       .       .  .183 

Site  of  Ai  185 

The  Summit  of  Neby  Samwil  186 

Taleil  el  Ful,  from  Neby  Samwil  .  .  .  .188 
The  Village  of  El  Jib,  the  ancient  Gibeon  of  Benjamin  189 
Neby  Samwil,  the  ancient  Mizpeh,  the  watchtower  of 

Benjamin   190 

Beit  'Ur  el  Foka,  on  the  site  of  Upper  Beth-horon  .  191 
View  from  Upper  Beth-horon  .  .  .  .  .192 
Beit  'Ur  et  Tahta,  on  the  site  of  Lower  Beth-hcron  .  193 
View  from  the  Ruins  of  the  Mediaeval  Fortress  at 

Latron  .........  195 

Valley  of  Ajalon,  from  the  west  .       .       .       .       .  195 

Soba,  from  the  Jerusalem  road    .....  198 

Kurye  el  'Anab,  the  Village  of  Grapes       .       .  -199 
Kolonia,  and  Wady  Beit  Hanina        ....  202 

Mosque  of  the  Fountain,  'Ain  Karim  ....  203 

Franciscan  Monastery  and  Church  of  St.  John  at  'Ain 

Karim,  in  the  so-called  "  Wilderness  of  St.  John"  205 
Well  of  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  'Ain  Karim  .  .  207 
Altar  of  Church  of  St.  John,  'Ain  Karim  .  .  .  209 
'Ain  Haniyeh,  in  the  Valley  of  Roses  .       .       .  .210 

'Anata,  on  the  site  of  Anathoth  211 

The  Village  of  Sh'afat,  on  the  supposed  site  of  Nob, 

the  City  of  the  Priests  213 

Mosque  and   Tomb   at   Er   Ram,  the   Ramah  of 

Benjamin  214 

Ruins  of  Crusaders'  Church  at  El  Bireh,  the  ancient 

Beeroth        .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .215 

A  Halt  for  the  Night  in  the  Khan  of  El  Bireh,  the 

ancient  Beeroth  .216 

Beitin,  the  ancient  Bethel  217 

Remains  of  a  Church  at  Beitin  .  .  .  .  .219 
The   Village  of    Taiyibeh,   from   the   Heights  of 

Rumman   222 

Wady  el  Jib  223 

Seilun,  on  the  site  of  Shiloh  225 

Ancient  Doorway  at  Shiloh,  and  Ruins  of  the  "Con- 
vent Castle  "  in  Wady  Lubban  (Lebonah)    .       .  226 
A  Threshing-floor      .......  227 

Jacob's  Well,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Gerizim        .       .  230 

Joseph's  Tomb  231 

Ruins  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Gerizim,  on  the  site 

of  the  Samaritan  Temple  233 

The  Village  of  Salim  -.  237 

Tomb  of  Phinehas  238 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  "HE  writers  on  sacred  geography  may  be  divided  into  three  classes.  There  was  first 
the  class  of  pilgrims,  beginning  with  the  Empress  Helena,  and  continuing  through 
the  whole  period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  almost  down  to  our  own  time.  The  writings  of 
this  class  contain  much  that  is  curious  in  the  way  of  legend  and  of  fancy,  but  in  the 
way  of  historical,  geographical,  or  philosophical  investigation  they  contain  almost  nothing. 

Next,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  supervened  the  class  of  travellers,  few  and  far 
between,  who  wandered  from  the  beaten  track,  partly  in  pursuit  of  adventure,  partly  for 
the  sake  of  investigating  these  countries  scientifically,  and  who,  advancing  onwards  to  the 
present  time,  included  amongst  their  number  some  few  who  have  acquired  a  widespread 
fame — amongst  others,  first  and  foremost,  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  who,  in  his  brief  Notes 
on  Syria,  founded  on  his  military  expedition,  has  laid  the  basis  of  all  the  subsequent  scientific 
descriptions  of  Palestine.  But  these  travellers  were  hardly  ever  gifted  with  a  sense  of  the 
perception  either  of  natural  scenery,  or  of  imaginative  and  devotional  sentiment.  Jerusalem, 
as  was  expressed  by  that  great  genius  of  whom  v/e  have  just  spoken,  did  not  lie  within  the 
line  of  their  operations. 

The  third  group  partly  resembled  these,  but  may  be  distinguished  as  the  literary  class. 
Chateaubriand  was  the  first.  He  described — inaccurately,  but  still  with  a  sense  of  what  he 
saw  before  him— something  of  the  peculiar  conformation  of  the  outlines  of  the  country.  He 
was  the  first  who  spoke  of  that  long  line  of  mysterious  hills  beyond  the  Jordan  which  now 
impresses  every  traveller  who  visits  those  scenes. 

These  literary  travellers  were  finally  united  with  that  more  scientific  group  which  pre- 
ceded them  in  the  person  of  one  who  must  be  called  for  all  practical  purposes  the  discoverer 
of  Palestine.  It  was  Dr.  Robinson,  the  American  traveller,  who  first  brought  to  the 
geography  of  Palestine  a  previous  knowledge  worthy  of  the  subject  and  an  eye  capable 
of  observing  it.  From  that  time  forward  the  two  streams  of  literary  and  of  scientific 
investigators  have  been  continued,  sometimes  apart,  sometimes  united.  The  crowd  of 
visitors  who  hang  on  the  outskirts  of  the  literary  class,  and  who  have  published  their 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

travels,  are  well-nigh  countless.  Their  books  are  amongst  the  least  worthy  of  the  noble 
theme  of  any  that  have  appeared  on  this  or  any  other  country.  But  the  class  which  may 
be  called  scientific  have  more  or  less  kept  before  their  minds  the  ideal  which  advanced 
knowledge  and  the  seriousness  of  the  subject  demanded  ;  and  it  is  to  their  work  that  this 
volume  is  chiefly  owing.  It  represents  the  results  of  their  travels — in  Egypt,  so  far  as  it 
concerns  the  Chosen  People  ;  in  Arabia,  so  far  as  Arabia  is  connected  with  the  giving  of 
the  Law  and  the  wanderings  of  the  Israelites ;  in  Palestine,  as  it  includes  not  only  the 
sacred  history,  both  Jewish  and  Christian,  but  also  the  monuments  of  the  Crusaders  and 
the  Saracen  princes  of  a  later  time. 

The  engravings  and  the  descriptions  must  be  left  to  speak  for  themselves.  A  few 
words  only  need  here  be  added  to  express  the  value  of  such  an  addition  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  Holy  Land,  or  rather,  we  may  say,  of  the  Holy  Lands.  Of  Egypt  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  its  transitory  connection  with  the  slavery  and  migration  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
although  very  slightly  indicated  in  the  Egyptian  history  or  monuments,  yet  deserves  any 
light  which  can  be  thrown  by  the  recent  investigations  which  have  taken  place  with  regard 
to  Heliopolis  or  the  neighbourhood  of  Suez.  The  desert  of  Mount  Sinai  is  more  closely 
bound  up  with  the  sacred  history.  A  few  incidents  in  the  wanderings  of  the  Chosen  People, 
the  identification  of  Paran  and  of  the  Giving  of  the  Law  with  the  magnificent  scenery  of 
Serbal  and  the  Gebel  Mousa,  and  the  conjectural  identification  of  Petra  with  Kadesh,  or,  at 
any  rate,  with  Mount  Hor,  furnish  the  only  links  of  direct  relationship  ;  but  the  general 
atmosphere,  the  natural  history,  and  the  unique  configuration  of  the  granite  mountains  which 
form  the  peculiar  charm  of  the  desert,  cannot  fail  to  quicken  the  appreciation  with  which 
we  read  the  accounts  of  the  "  grreat  and  terrible  wilderness,"  and  the  thunders  and  liMitninas 
of  Mount  Horeb,  the  palm-trees  of  Elim,  and  the  springs  of  Rephidim  and  Kadesh. 

But  in  Palestine  the  connection  of  the  history  and  the  geography  is  so  intimate  and  so 
compact  as  to  exceed  that  of  any  other  country,  with  the  exception  of  Greece.  The  beauty, 
the  variety,  the  marked  features  of  the  Grecian  landscape,  cannot  be  rivalled  by  any  other 
part  of  the  world,  and  are  so  interwoven  with  every  stage  of  the  mythology  and  history  of 
the  marvellous  people  which  inhabited  it,  as  to  place  its  historical  geography  in  a  superlative 
degree  above  that  of  any  other  nation  or  locality. 

Next  to  Greece,  however,  Palestine  stands  supreme.  The  extraordinary  rift  of  the  Jordan 
valley,  deeper  than  any  similar  fissure  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  innumerable  questions, 
historical  or  scientific,  which  that  valley  suggests  in  the  overthrow  of  the  five  cities  in  the 
passage  of  the  Jordan,  would  of  itself  render  Palestine  peculiar  amongst  the  countries  of 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

the  globe.  The  caves  with  which  its  limestone  rocks  are  perforated  are  features  which 
cannot  be  destroyed  or  altered  by  time,  and  represent  a  series  of  adventures  and  hiding- 
places  from  the  time  of  Abraham  and  David  down  to  the  heroic  insurgents  of  the  age  of 
Josephus,  The  wells  and  springs,  which  are  so  remarkable  an  element  in  all  Eastern 
lands,  and  which  ally  themselves  alike  with  the  early  history  of  the  Patriarchs  and  with 
the  recorded  discourses  of  Him  who  by  the  well  of  Sychar  proclaimed  the  great  truth  of 
the  spirituality  and  universality  of  His  religion,  still  remain  as  living  witnesses  to  the 
history  of  which  they  are  the  expression,  and  justify  with  singular  force  the  striking  words 
of  a  well-known  traveller,  "  There  is  no  event  so  permanent  as  that  which  is  writ  in 
water."  The  fragments  of  buildings  which  overspread  the  whole  country,  and  which  date 
from  almost  every  age,  recall  the  prehistoric  times  of  those  old  aboriginal  tribes  whose 
names  appear  only  to  be  blotted  out  by  the  successive  tides  of  invasion  which  have  swept 
over  the  country;  and  the  manifold  vestiges  of  Jerusalem,  Samaria,  Caesarea,  and  Baalbec 
carry  us  on,  like  the  broken  arches  of  a  majestic  aqueduct,  through  the  Herodian,  the  Syro- 
Roman,  and  the  Crusading  periods,  so  as  to  leave  upon  the  mind  the  impression,  even  more 
than  Greece  or  Italy,  of  a  land  of  ruins.  The  mountains,  if  unlike  Greece,  where,  by  reason 
of  the  variety  of  form  and  colour, 

"  Each  old  poetic  mountain 
Inspiration  breathes  around," 

yet,  by  the  general  elevation  of  the  whole  country,  have  given  form  and  substance  to  the 
peculiar  diction  of  Prophet  and  Psalmist,  and  have  also  lent  themselves  to  that  long 
succession  of  celebrated  views  with  which  no  other  history  can  compare.  They,  and  they 
alone,  made  possible  the  view  of  Abraham  from  Bethel ;  the  view  of  Jacob  from  the 
rocky  defile  of  Jabbok;  the  view  of  Moses  from  the  top  of  Pisgah ;  the  survey  of 
Balaam  from  that  same  spot  over  the  country  which  lay  beneath  his  feet ;  the  parting 
view  of  the  exile  of  the  forty-second  Psalm,  as  he  mounted  the  hills  of  Gilead  and  looked 
back  on  the  beloved  sanctuary  of  his  home ;  the  view  of  a  greater  than  Abraham,  or 
Moses,  or  David,  from  a  mountain  "  exceeding-  hia-h,"  over  "  all  the  kinQ;-doms  of  the  world  ;" 
or,  again,  from  Hermon,  where  His  garments  became  as  white  as  snow;  or,  again,  from 
that  spot  which,  almost  alone  in  Palestine,  is  consecrated,  not  by  tradition,  but  by  its  own 
intrinsic  evidence,  as  the  place  where,  "when  He  saw  Jerusalem,  He  wept  over  it." 

Such  are  some  of  the  scenes  which  are  presented  in  this  volume.  It  is  believed  that 
they  will  tend,  at  once  by  the  accuracy  of  description  and  of  delineation,  to  produce  a 
livelier  sense  of  the  "  goodly  land,"  and  the  descending  river,  and  the  holy  city  "with  the 
mountains  standing  round  about  it." 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

In  the  New  Testament  they  can  for  the  most  part  only  supply  the  external  framework 
where  the  grand  events  occurred  and  the  great  truths  were  proclaimed,  which  form  the 
substance  of  the  Christian  revelation.  The  events  and  the  truths  are  too  spiritual  to  be 
touched  by  the  local  and  natural  position  of  mountain  and  valley,  of  building  and  vegetation. 
"He  is  not  here — He  is  risen."  But  for  the  Old  Testament,  where  the  name  of  every  plain 
is  significant,  where  the  formation  of  every  glen  has  wrought  itself  into  a  picture,  where 
every  stream,  spring,  and  well  has  intertwined  itself  with  some  sacred  history,  where  every 
bird  and  beast  has  almost  a  voice  that  speaks,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  "  Thy  servants 
take  pleasure  in  her  stones  and  favour  the  dust  thereof." 


JERUSALEM, 

If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her 
cunning." — Ps.  cxxxvii.  5. 

ERUSALEM  is  emphatically  a  moun- 
tain city.  Situated  in  the  heart  of 
the  hill  country  which  extends  from  the 
great  plain  of  Esdraelon  to  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  Promised  Land,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  limestone  hills 
whose  surface  is  broken  by  countless  ravines,  and  only  approached  by  rough  mountain  roads, 
its  position  is  one  of  great  natural  strength.  This  peculiarity  in  the  situation  of  the  Holy 
City  is  frequently  alluded  to  in  the  Bible,  and  we  may  infer  from  the  well-known  words 
of  the  Psalmist,  "  As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is  round  about 


THE  JAFFA  GATE. 

The  chief  entrance  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  as  it  appears  from  within  the 
city  walls.    The  open  space  within  the  gate  is  used  as  a  market-place. 


2 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


his  people,"  that  importance  was  attached  to  the  hills  as  a  barrier  or  protection  against  hostile 
attack. 

The  modern  city  stands,  as  did  the  ancient  one,  on  the  southern  extremity  of  a 
gently  shelving  plateau,  not  more  than  one  thousand  acres  in  extent,  which  is  bordered  by 
two  valleys  that  bear  names  familiar  to  us  from  childhood  :  one  is  the  Valley  of  the  Brook 
Kedron,  the  other  the  Valley  of  Hinnom.  These  two  valleys,  at  first  mere  shallow 
depressions  in  the  ground,  take  their  rise  within  a  few  yards  of  each  other,  and  at  an  altitude 
of  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  sea,  in  the  gentle  undulation  which 
at  that  point  parts  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  from  those  of  the  Jordan  Valley. 
Separating  at  once,  they  soon  take  one  of  those  rapid  plunges  downward  so  characteristic 
of  the  wild  glens  of  Judaea,  and,  after  encircling  the  plateau,  meet  again  at  Bir  Eyub  (the 
Well  of  Job),  six  hundred  and  seventy-two  feet  below  their  original  starting-point ;  hence, 
united  as  the  Wady  en  Nar,  "  Valley  of  Fire,"  they  pass  by  a  deep  gorge  through  the 
Wilderness  of  Judaea  to  the  Dead  Sea. 

The  eastern  or  Kedron  valley,  after  running  eastward  for  a  mile  and  a  half,  turns 
sharply  to  the  south  and  forms  at  its  southern  extremity  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat.  The 
western  valley,  or  Valley  of  Hinnom,  which  at  its  head  swells  out  into  a  large  shallow  basin, 
follows  a  southerly  course  for  one  mile  and  a  quarter,  and  then  turns  eastward  to  Bir  Eyub, 
south  of  the  city. 

A  third  ravine,  the  Tyropoeon,  or  Valley  of  the  Cheesemongers,  which  rises  near  the 
head  of  the  plateau  between  the  Kedron  and  Hinnom  valleys,  runs  southward  to  join 
the  former  at  Siloam,  and  divides  the  ground  on  which  the  city  stands  into  two  spurs  of 
unequal  size,  which  terminate  in  abrupt  broken  slopes.  On  Mount  Moriah,  the  eastern  and 
smaller  spur,  once  stood  the  temples  of  Solomon,  Zerubbabel,  and  Herod,  and  the  palace 
of  Solomon  ;  on  the  western,  which  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  higher  than  Moriah, 
and  of  greater  area,  were  situated  the  "upper  city"  of  Josephus,  the  stately  palace  of  Herod, 
and  the  three  great  towers  Hippicus,  Phasaelus,  and  Mariamne.  A  fourth  and  smaller  ravine, 
the  rugged  nature  of  which  was  unsuspected  a  few  years  ago,  rises  near  the  eastern  side 
of  the  plateau  and  falls  into  the  Kedron  near  the  well-known  Golden  Gate.  In  the  bed  of 
this  ravine  two  large  reservoirs  were  constructed  ;  one  of  these  still  exists  as  the  Birket 
Israil,  or  Pool  of  Bethesda, 

The  sides  of  the  valleys  of  Kedron  and  Hinnom  are  now  encumbered  with  rubbish, 
but  they  are  still  sufficiently  steep  to  be  difficult  of  access,  and  every  here  and  there  places 
are  found  where  the  rock  has  been  cut  perpendicularly  downwards,  in  cliffs  ten  to  twenty 
feet  high,  to  give  additional  security.  It  was  probably  in  these  natural  defences,  strengthened 
by  art,  which  protect  the  city  on  the  south,  east,  and  west,  that  the  Jebusites  put  their  trust 
when  they  boasted  to  King  David,  "  Thou  wilt  not  come  in  hither  ;  the  blind  and  lame 
shall  drive  thee  back."  The  only  side  upon  which  the  city  could  be  attacked  with  any  chance 
of  success  was  the  north  ;  and  here  it  was  defended  by  walls  of  such  massive  strength  as 


JERUSALEM. 


3 


to  be  capable  of  offering  a  determined  resistance  to  the  most  celebrated  armies  of  the  ancient 
world. 

Immediately  beyond  the  Kedron  Valley,  "before"  or  to  the  east  of  Jerusalem,  is  the 
Mount  of  Olives  (see  page  8),  a  long  ridge  of  graceful  outline,  swelling  out  ever  and  again 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  CITADEL. 
Showing  the  rudely  constructed  wooden  bridge  across  the  moat  and  Turkish  sentries  on  guard. 


into  rounded  knolls  which  command  striking  views  of  the  city  and  the  surrounding  country. 
On  one  of  these  knolls,  opposite  Mount  Moriah,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  the 
Temple  Platform,  are  the  Mosque  and  Church  of  the  Ascension  ;  on  another,  towards  the 
north,  a  small  ruin  marks  the  spot  where,  according  to  tradition,  the  men  of  Galilee  stood 


( 


4  PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 

"gazing  up  into  heaven"  (Acts  i.  ii);  and  still  farther  northward  is  Scopus,  the  brow  of  the 
hill  whence  Titus  and  his  legions  looked  down  upon  the  doomed  city  (see  Frontispiece). 

The  ride  from  Scopus  along  the  crest  of  Olivet  to  the  Church  of  the  Ascension  is  one 
of  the  greatest  interest  and  beauty  :  on  one  side  there  are  ever-changing  views  of  the  deep 
depression  of  the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  Dead  Sea ;  on  the  other,  every  step  brings  more 
prominently  to  view  some  spot,  or  it  may  be  some  building,  which  no  thoughtful  man  can  look 
upon  without  at  least  a  passing  emotion. 

The  view  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  is  one  which,  from  its  strange  beauty  and  its 
extraordinary  interest,  lingers  long  and  lovingly  in  the  memory  of  those  who  have  seen  it. 
Away  to  the  north  is  the  minaret-crowned  height  of  Neby  Samwil,  the  Mizpeh,  perhaps,  of 
Scripture,  whence  many  a  weary  pilgrim  has  caught  his  first  glimpse  of  the  long-looked-for 
Zion.  To  the  east  are  grey,  bare  hills,  cut  up  by  a  thousand  ravines,  which  descend  abruptly 
to  the  Jordan  Valley,  and  that  strange  salt  sea  which  occupies  the  deepest  depression  of  the 
earth's  surface.  The  atmosphere  is  so  clear,  so  transparent,  that  the  placid  water  seems  at 
times  almost  .within  reach,  yet  it  is  many  miles  away,  and  its  surface  is  no  less  than  three 
thousand  nine  hundred  feet  below  the  mount.  Beyond  the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  Dead  Sea, 
a  long  mountain  wall,  which  is  broken  here  and  there  by  wild  gorges  through  which  the  waters 
of  Arnon  and  other  streams  find  their  way  to  the  lower  depths,  extends  from  Mount  Gilead 
on  the  north  to  the  Mountains  of  Moab  on  the  south  (see  page  9).  In  the  evening,  when 
the  sun  is  low  and  the  blinding  glare  from  the  white  hills  in  the  foreground  is  somewhat 
subdued,  the  colouring  on  the  distant  mountains  is  exquisite,  and  the  changing  light  produces 
a  succession  of  ever-varying  tints  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  transfer  to  canvas. 

The  view  towards  the  west,  which  should  be  seen  by  morning  light,  embraces  the  entire 
city  of  Jerusalem ;  every  hill  and  valley  and  nearly  all  the  important  buildings  can  be 
recognised  at  once,  and  a  general  impression  of  their  relative  positions  obtained.  Looking 
down  from  his  vantage  ground  on  Olivet,  the  spectator  is  at  once  struck  by  the  appearance  of 
ruin  and  decay  which  the  city  presents,  and  especially  by  the  vast  accumulation  of  rubbish 
within  and  around  it :  the  deep  gorge  of  the  Tyropoeon,  which  cut  through  the  heart  of  the 
town,  is  now  but  a  slight  depression ;  the  wild  ravine  in  which  the  Pool  of  Bethesda  was  cut  is 
filled  to  overflowing ;  Kedron's  bed  is  deeply  covered  with  debris ;  the  precipices  which  Joab 
scaled  are  slopes  of  earth  and  stones  planted  with  corn  and  vegetables ;  and  the  Via  Dolorosa 
is  forty  to  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ancient  roadway.  The  extensive  cemeteries  which 
hem  in  the  city  on  almost  every  side  give  a  mournful  aspect  to  the  view,  and  this  effect  is 
heightened  by  the  oppressive  silence  which  broods  over  the  place  during  the  greater  portion 
of  the  day,  and  by  the  sober  grey  of  the  dome-roofed  houses.  How  strangely  changed  from 
that  Jerusalem  which  the  Psalmist  once  described  in  loving  terms  as  "  Beautiful  for  situation, 
the  joy  of  the  whole  earth  !  " 

From  the  Church  of  the  Ascension  the  ground  shelves  down  to  the  dry  bed  of  the" 
Kedron  and  then  rises  steeply  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Moriah,  on  which  is  now  situated  the 


JERUSALEM. 


7 


vicinity  of  the  Zion  Gate,  whilst  another,  named  "  El  Wad,"  or  Valley  Street,  follows,  except 
where  it  has  to  cross  the  causeway,  the  general  direction  of  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  to  the  Dung 
Gate.  From  St.  Stephen's  Gate  a  street  runs  past  the  Pool  of  Bethesda  to  the  Valley  Street, 
and  from  the  Zion  Gate  a  street  leads  in  an  almost  direct  line  to  an  open  space  in  front  of 
the  Jaffa  Gate.  The  principal  streets  divide  Jerusalem,  approximately,  into  four  quarters, 
of  which  the  north-east,  including  Bezetha  and  the  Upper  Tyropoeon  Valley,  is  occupied  by 
Moslems  ;  the  north-west  and  south-west,  or  Zion  and  the  western  hills,  by  Christians  ;  and 
the  south-east,  comprising  the  eastern  slope  of  Zion  and  the  Lower  Tyropoeon,  by  Jews. 

The  Jaffa  Gate,  or  Gate  of  Hebron  (Bab  el  Khalil),  is  the  principal  entrance  to  the  city, 
and  its  immediate  neighbourhood  is  generally  enlivened  by  a  throng  of  passers-by,  and  by  the 
groups  of  muleteers,  packers,  and  idlers  who  spend  a  large  portion  of  their  time  lounging 
about  the  cafes  without  the  gate  (see  page  i). 

South  of  the  Jaffa  Gate  is  the  Citadel,  and  beyond  it  are  the  barracks  and  the 
extensive  gardens  of  the  Armenian  monastery  (see  page  5).  This  portion  of  the  western  hill 
was  covered  in  part,  or  perhaps  entirely,  by  Herod's  Palace,  with  its  gardens,  and  by  the  three 
towers  which  adjoined  it  on  the  north.  Josephus  has  left  us  a  glowing  account  of  the  royal 
palace,  which  "  was  entirely  surrounded  by  a  wall  thirty  cubits  high,  with  decorated  towers 
at  equal  intervals,  and  contained  enormous  banqueting  halls,  besides  numerous  chambers 
richly  adorned." 

The  towers  were  built  of  blocks  of  white  stone  of  great  size,  "  so  exactly  joined 
together  that  each  tower  appeared  to  be  one  mass  of  rock ; "  and  they  played  a  prominent 
part  during  the  memorable  siege  by  the  Romans.  These  towers  were  left  standing  by  Titus 
when  he  destroyed  the  city,  to  protect  the  legion  left  to  garrison  the  place  and  prevent 
any  insurrectionary  movements  on  the  part  of  the  Jews. 

Any  remains  which  may  now  exist  of  Herod's  Palace  are  buried  beneath  a  mass  of  rubbish 
more  than  thirty  feet  deep;  but  two  at  least  of  the  towers,  Phasaelus  and  Hippicus,  can  be 
recognised  in  the  works  of  the  modern  Citadel.  The  Citadel,  remodelled  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  and  again  repaired  in  the  sixteenth  century,  consists  of  five  square  towers  and  other 
buildings,  surrounded  by  a  ditch  (see  page  3).  It  has  a  commanding  position,  and  before  the 
introduction  of  fire-arms  must  have  been  of  great  strength.  Even  now  the  solid  masonry  of 
the  lower  portion  would  resist  for  some  time  any  artillery  that  could  be  brought  against  it. 

The  Tower  of  David  (see  page  5)  appears  to  be  the  oldest  portion  of  the  Citadel,  and 
its  dimensions  and  mode  of  construction  agree  well  with  those  of  the  tower  Phasaelus  as 
described  by  Josephus.  The  substructure  consists  of  a  solid  masonry  escarp,  rising  from  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  with  a  pathway,  or  chemin  des 
rondes,  round  the  top.  Above  this  the  tower  rises  in  a  solid  mass  for  a  height  of  twenty-nine 
feet,  and  then  comes  the  superstructure.  The  escarp  retains  to  some  extent  its  original  appear- 
ance, but  time  and  hard  treatment  have  worn  away  much  of  the  finer  work,  and  the  repairs 
have  been  executed  in  the  usual  slovenly  manner  of  the  Turks.    The  old  work,  where  it  can  be 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


THE  MOUNT  OF  OLIVES. 
From  a  house-top  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Pool  of 
Hezekiah,  looking  eastward. 

seen,  is  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  best 
specimens  of  masonry  in  the  far-famed 
wall  of  the  Temple  Platform  ;  the  faces  of 
the  stones  are  dressed  with  an  astonishing 
degree  of  fineness,  and  the  whole,  when 
perfect,  must  have  presented  a  smooth 
surface  difficult  to  escalade,  and,  from 
the  solidity  of  the  mass,  unassailable  by 
the  battering  ram.  The  masonry  of  the  _^ 
solid  tower  is  rougher ;  the  faces  of  the 
stones  project,  and  they  are  pitted  with  a  number  of  deep  square  holes  which  have  lon| 


JERUSALEM. 


9 


THE    SOUTHERN    SLOPES   OF    OLIVET  AND 
THE  MOUNTAINS  OF  MOAB. 

From  the  same  spot,  overlooking  David  Street,  crowded  with 
people;  the  large  domed  quadrangle  on  the  right  is  the 
Synagogue  of  the  Ashkenazim  Jews. 

"wm        ^^P^^^'^^^'^^^j^^Sj^^^^^^^^^^' '       puzzled   the    antiquary.      The  super- 
dti^!'  " '     structure  contains  several  chambers,  and 

a  cistern  for  the  collection  of  rain-water. 
In  one  of  the  rooms  a  "  mihrab  "  marks 
the  place  where,  according  to  Moslem 
tradition,  David  composed  the  Psalms, 

'^^^'^^'W'^^'^€^^^BBMI^^^BIB  ^^'^  another  chamber  is  pointed  out  as 

the  reception  room  of  the  same  king. 
The  Tower  of  David  was  the  last  place  to  yield  when  Jerusalem  was  captured  by  the 
3 


lO 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Crusaders;  and  when  the  city  walls  were  destroyed  by  the  Moslems  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
it  was  for  some  reason — probably  its  solidity — spared,  to  come  down  to  our  own  time  as  a  fine 
example  of  the  mural  masonry  of  the  Jews. 

The  remaining  towers  of  the  Citadel  have  suffered  far  more  severely,  from  the  battering 


THE  ZION   GATE,  OR  GATE   OF  THE   PROPHET  DAVm. 
Exterior  view.    In  the  foreground,  outside  the  gate,  is  a  group  of  Bethlehemites. 


they  have  undergone  during  numerous  sieges,  and  without  extensive  excavation  it  would  be 
impossible  to  determine  their  original  forrq^  The  tower,  however,  which  guards  the  Jaffa  Gate, 
though  its  dimensions  are  somewhat  smaller  than  those  given  by  Josephus,  is  satisfactorily 
identified  with  the  tower  of  Hippicus  by  the  discovery  of  an  aqueduct  twelve  feet  below 


JERUSALEM. 


the  level  of  the  present  conduit,  which  is  probably  that  by  which,  according  to  the  Jewish 
historian,  water  was  brought  into  that  building. 

Within  the  Citadel  there  is  ruin  and  rubbish  everywhere  ;  without,  in  the  moat,  soldiers' 
gardens,  beds  of  cactus  or  prickly  pear,  and  filth  of  every  possible  description ;  and  on  the 
ramparts  a  few  old  cannon,  much  dreaded  by  the  artillerymen  who  have  to  fire  them.  The 
view  from  the  top  of  David's  Tower  is  extensive,  embracing  the  whole  town,  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  the  Dead  Sea,  and  the  Mountains  of  Moab — a  pleasant  sight  to  feast  the  eyes  upon 
for  half  an  hour  before  the  sun  goes  down. 

In  front  of  the  Tower  of  David  is  the  residence  of  the  late  Bishop  Gobat,  whose  stalwart 


THE  TOMB  OF  DAVID. 

The  whole  group  of  buildings  is  called  Neby  Datid,  which  signifies  the  Sanctuary  of  the  Sepulchre  of  the  Prophet  David. 


form  and  kind,  homely  manner  will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  Not  far  from  it,  opposite  the 
Citadel,  on  the  east  side  of  Armenian  Street,  which  leads  to  the  Zion  Gate,  is  Christ  Church, 
the  English  Protestant  church.  The  foundation  stone  of  this  church  was  laid  in  1842  by 
Bishop  Alexander,  a  Jewish  proselyte,  who  in  the  previous  year  had  been  consecrated  first 
bishop  of  the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland  in  Jerusalem.  The  church  owes  its 
existence  to  the  efforts  of  the  English  Society  for  Promoting  Christianity .  among  the  Jews, 
which  has  had  resident  missionaries  in  the  city  since  1824. 


12 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Proceeding  southward  along  Armenian  Street,  we  have  on  the  right  the  fine  gardens  of 
the  Armenian  Monastery,  and  on  the  left  the  monastery  itself,  and  the  Church  of  St.  James. 
The  monastery  is  the  largest  and  most  comfortable  building  of  its  class  in  Jerusalem,  and  has, 
attached  to  it,  schools  and  dormitories  for  the  accommodation  of  students  preparing  themselves 
for  the  priesthood,  and  also  an  extensive  range  of  buildings  capable  of  containing  three  thousand 
pilgrims.  It  was  founded  by  the  Georgians  as  early  as  the  eleventh  century,  but  when  their 
fortunes  declined  and  they  were  unable  to  satisfy  the  claims  made  upon  them  by  the  Turks, 
it  was  sold  by  them  to  the  Armenians  in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  Georgians  attached  as  a 
condition  to  the  sale  that  the  monastery  should  be  restored  to  them  when  they  were  again 
able  to  support  it ;  and  upon  this  condition  the  Greek  Church  has  based  a  claim  to  the 
buildings,  which  may  some  day  swell  into  one  of  those  quarrels  respecting  the  holy  places 
which  have  led  to  such  serious  consequences.  The  refectory  or  dining-hall  of  the  monastery 
retains  much  of  its  old  character — a  step  divides  the  patriarch  and  bishops  from  the  rest  of 
the  clergy ;  the  tables  are  fine  slabs  of  white  marble  ;  the  pavement  is  of  what  is  known  as 
"  Santa  Croce  "  marble ;  there  is  some  pretty  inlaid  work ;  and  on  the  walls,  amidst  much  that 
is  modern,  are  some  fine  old  porcelain  tiles. 

The  Church  of  St.  James  is,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  the  largest 
within  the  city,  and  is  the  richest  in  gilding,  decoration,  and  pictures.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  church  is  a  chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Stephen,  in  which  is  preserved  the  font  used  on  the 
occasion  of  the  baptism  of  the  first  Jew  converted  to  Christianity.  The  walls  of  the  church 
and  its  chapels  are  covered  with  porcelain  tiles  of  comparatively  modern  date  and  of  inferior 
pattern. 

A  short  distance  beyond  the  monastery  is  the  Zion  Gate,  or  the  Gate  of  the  Prophet 
David,  Bab  en  Neby  Daud  (see  page  lo),  leading  out  to  the  group  of  buildings  called  Neby 
Daud,  which  stand  on  the  waste  portion  of  the  modern  Mount  Zion  (see  page  ii).  The  gate 
itself  dates  from  the  reconstruction  of  the  walls  by  Suleiman  in  1539 — 42  a.d.  Close  to  the 
Zion  Gate  is  an  Armenian  monastery  called  the  House  of  Caiaphas,  in  which  are  shown  the 
prison  of  Our  Lord  and  the  stone  that  once  closed  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  In  the  quadrangle  of 
the  monastery  are  the  tombs  of  the  Armenian  patriarchs  of  Jerusalem.  A  short  distance 
beyond  are  the  "  coenaculum,"  or  chamber  of  the  Last  Supper,  and  the  Tomb  of  David, 
contained  in  one  building.  The  tomb,  or  cenotaph  shown  as  such,  occupies  the  eastern  end 
of  a  chamber  which  appears  to  have  been  the  crypt  of  an  old  church  erected  during  the  Frank 
kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  probably  that  called  the  Church  of  St.  Mary. 

We  must  now  return  to  the  market-place  in  front  of  the  Jaffa  Gate,  and,  proceeding  for 
a  short  distance  eastward  down  David  Street,  turn  to  the  left  into  the  street  of  the  Christians 
to  gain  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  Passing  along  this  last  street,  we  have,  at  first,  on 
the  left  the  large  reservoir  known  as  Hezekiah's  Pool,  and  on  the  right  the  Greek  Church  and 
Monastery  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  Hezekiah's  Pool,  or,  as  it  is  called  by  the  people,  "  The 
Pool  of  the  Patriarch's  Bath,"  is  an  open  tank  surrounded  by  houses,  which  is  supplied  with 


JERUSALEM. 


13 


The  swallows  flying  towards  the  turbid  water- 
the  man  dipping  his  jar  into  it  from  a  balcony, 
and  the  smokers  in  the  foreground,  are  all 
characteristic  of  the  spot  at  the  end  of  the 
summer,  when  good  water  is  scarce. 


water  by  an  aqueduct  from  a 
reservoir  outside  the  city.  It 
is  capable  of  containing  about 
three  million  gallons  of  water, 
but  is  in  very  bad  repair.  The 
bottom  of  the  pool  is  covered 
by  a  thick  deposit  of  vegetable 
mould,  and  one  corner  is 
nothing  more  than  an  open 
cesspit  of  the  foulest  descrip- 
tion ;  the  water,  nominally,  is 
only  used    for    washing  pur- 


poses, but  the  poorer  classes  often  draw  it  for  drinking  during  summer,  and  hence  arises  much 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


fever  and  sickness.  The  Church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  or  "  Forerunner,"  has  been  built 
above  a  much  older  church,  which  is  half-filled  with  rubbish,  but  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 
The  floor  of  this  old  church  is  twenty-five  feet  below  the  present  level  of  the  "  Street  of  the 
Christians  " — a  good  proof  of  the  great  accumulation  of  rubbish  in  this  part  of  the  city.  At 
Easter  time  Christian  Street  is  thronged  with  pilgrims  passing  to  and  fro,  or  making  purchases 
at  the  numerous  shops,  and  presents  an  appearance  of  life  and  animation  which  it  is  far  from 
possessing  during  the  autumn  and  winter  months.  On  the  left-hand  side  of  the  street,  near 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  is  the  great  Greek  Monastery,  celebrated  for  the  library 
and  manuscripts  which  it  contains.  Five  churches — of  which  the  oldest  is  that  of  St.  Thecla 
— are  included  in  the  monastery,  and  there  is  considerable  accommodation  for  the  monks  and 
for  pilgrims  who  visit  Jerusalem.  On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  street  a  narrow  passage  and 
flight  of  steps  lead  down  to  the  courtyard  in  front  of  the  entrance  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  (see  page  i6).  The  open  court  is  the  favourite  resort  of  pedlars  from  Bethlehem, 
who  expose  their  wares  for  sale  on  the  pavement,  and  drive  a  thriving  trade  in  rosaries, 
mother-of-pearl  ornaments,  olive-wood  trinkets,  and  other  small  articles,  which  the  pilgrims 
purchase  as  mementoes  of  their  visit  to  the  Holy  City. 

A  discussion  of  the  many  difficult  questions  connected  with  the  site  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  would  be  beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  work ;  it  will  be  sufficient  here  to 
state  briefly  the  nature  of  the  theories  which  have  been  advanced,  and  to  give  a  slight  sketch 
of  the  history  of  the  church.  The  three  principal  theories  are  : — First,  that  the  Sepulchre 
of  our  Lord  was  beneath  the  "  Sakhra  "  or  Rock  in  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  and  that  the  noble 
building  above  it,  the  "  Dome  of  the  Rock,"  is  the  Church  of  the  Resurrection  erected  by  the 
Emperor  Constantine  in  the  fourth  century.  According  to  this  theory,  of  which  Mr.  James 
Fergusson  is  the  well-known  author  and  able  exponent,  the  tradition  relating  to  the  site  of  the 
sepulchre  was  transferred  to  the  present  tomb  in  the  eleventh  century.  Second,  that  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  occupies  the  ground  once  covered  by  the  churches  of 
Constantine,  and  that  it  contains  within  its  walls  the  tomb  of  Christ.  Third,  that  the  true 
sepulchre  was  to  the  north  of  the  city  without  the  present  walls,  and  was  never  found,  but 
that  the  present  "Holy  Sepulchre"  is  the  tomb  "miraculously  discovered"  by  Constantine, 
and  that  over  which  he  built  his  church. 

The  first  question  that  arises  is  whether  Constantine  really  found  the  "  new  sepulchre 
wherein  was  never  man  yet  laid,"  which  Joseph  of  Arimathaea  "had  hewn  out  in  the  rock"  in 
his  own  garden.  What  is  historically  certain  is  that  Constantine  erected  on  the  "discovered 
ground"  a  magnificent  group  of  buildings,  which  were  completed  and  dedicated  in  335  a.d. 

In  614  A.D.,  when  the  Persians  captured  Jerusalem,  the  Great  Basilica,  or  Martyrion,  was 
wholly  or  partially  destroyed  by  fire,  but  it  was  rebuilt  about  626  a.d.  by  Modestus,  Superior 
of  the  Monastery  of  Theodosius.  The  buildings,  which  are  fully  described  by  a  French 
bishop,  Arculf,  who  saw  them  about  700  a.d.,  then  consisted  of  the  Anastasis,  or  Church  of  the 
Resurrection,  which  contained  the  Holy  Sepulchre  ;  the  Basilica,  or  Martyrion,  a  five-aisled 


JERUSALEM. 


15 


building  with  a  circular  apse  and  an  opening  towards  the  east ;  the  square  Church  of 
St.  Mary ;  and  a  very  large  church  on  the  east  of  the  sepulchre,  called  the  Church  of 
Golgotha. 

In  936,  and  again  in  969,  when  the  Fatimite  Caliphs  gained  possession  of  the  city, 
portions  of  the  churches  were  damaged  by  fire;  and  in  10 10  they  were  partially  destroyed  by 
El  Hakim,  the  third  Fatimite  Caliph.  This  wild  fanatic  commenced  a  systematic  persecution 
of  the  Christians,  drove  them  from  their  churches,  and  even  attempted  to  destroy  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  About  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  the  Christians  began  to  return  to 
Jerusalem  (1048  a.d.)  and  commenced  the  rebuilding  of  the  churches;  and  it  is  to  this  period 
that  Mr.  Fergusson  ascribes  the  transference  of  the  site  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the 
Sakhra  in  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  to  its  present  position.  During  the  last  half  of  the  eleventh 
century  Jerusalem  fell  under  Turkish  rule,  and  the  Christians  were  much  oppressed  ; 
they  were  robbed  and  maltreated  even  whilst  worshipping  in  their  churches,  and  the  pilgrims 
had  to  submit  to  every  species  of  insult.  Among  those  who  suffered  was  Peter  the  Hermit, 
whose  burning  eloquence  on  his  return  to  Europe  roused  the  indignation  of  Western 
Christendom  and  brought  about  the  First  Crusade.  On  the  15th  July,  1099,  the  Crusaders 
captured  Jerusalem,  and,  after  putting  to  death  most  of  the  Turkish  population,  entered 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  barefooted  and  singing  hymns  of  praise.  They  soon, 
however,  found  the  building  too  insignificant,  and  commenced  to  remodel  it  and  add  new 
shrines.  An  English  monk  named  Saewulf,  who  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  about  1103, 
has  left  an  account  of  the  buildings  as  they  then  existed,  and  a  description  of  the  numerous 
"  Holy  Places,"  many  of  which  have  been  handed  down  by  tradition  to  the  present  day. 
When  Saladin  took  the  city  in  1187,  and  also  in  1244,  when  the  Christians  were  finally 
driven  from  Jerusalem,  the  church  and  the  sepulchre  were  injured,  but  with  these  exceptions 
the  buildings  remained  nearly  in  the  state  in  which  the  Crusaders  left  them  until  the  great  fire 
of  1808.  The  church,  except  the  eastern  portion,  was  almost  entirely  destroyed;  the  dome 
fell  in,  crushing  the  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  ;  the  marble  columns  of  the  Rotunda  were 
cracked  and  calcined  ;  images,  altars,  pictures,  were  consumed  in  the  general  conflagration ; 
and  there  was  a  mass  of  ruin  from  the  Chapel  of  Helena  to  the  rock-hewn  tomb  of  Joseph  of 
Arimathsea. 

In  the  intrigues  which  followed  at  Jerusalem  and  Constantinople  in  connection  with  the 
rebuilding  of  the  church,  the  Greeks  secured  for  themselves  the  greater  portion  of  the 
buildings,  and  during  the  execution  of  the  repairs  two  noble  monuments  of  the  Latin  or 
Frank  kingdom,  the  tombs  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon  and  his  brother  Baldwin,  disappeared. 
The  work  was  completed  and  the  renovated  church  consecrated  in  18 10,  a  certain  Greek, 
Commenos  by  name,  being  architect. 

The  only  entrance  to  the  church  at  present  is  on  the  south  side,  from  the  open  court  or 
quadrangle  which  has  been  alluded  to  above.  South  of  the  court  is  the  Greek  Monastery  of 
Gethsemane,  occupying  the  site  of  the  residence  of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Knights  of 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE   CHURCH   OF   THE   HOLY  SEPULCHRE. 
Pilgrims  buying  rosaries  and  relics  in  the  forecourt. 


JERUSALEM. 


17 


St.  John ;  in  front  of  this  building  are  the  bases  of  three  columns,  probably  the  remains 
of  some  porch  or  screen.  On  the  east  side  are  the  Greek  Monastery  of  Abraham,  containing 
a  small  chapel  in  which  is  shown  the  spot,  close  to  Golgotha,  where  Abraham  was  on  the 


THE  SHRINE  OF  THE  HOLY  SEPULCHRE. 
The  enormous  candles  at  the  entrance  are  lighted  only  on  important  festivals. 


point  of  sacrificing  Isaac;  the  Armenian  Church  of  St.  John;  and  the  Coptic  Chapel  of  the 
Angel  St.  Michael,  whence  a  passage  leads  to  the  Coptic  Monastery.    On  the  west  side  are 
the  Chapel  of  St.  James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord  ;  the  Chapel  of  the  "  Forty  Martyrs,"  or  of 
4 


i8 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


the  "  Ointment  Bearers " — originally  the  Chapel  of  the  Trinity — where  all  marriages  and 
baptisms  were  conducted,  and  which  contains  a  very  beautiful  font ;  and  the  Chapel  of 
St.  John,  in  the  basement  story  of  the  great  tower.  The  facade  of  the  church  occupies  the 
entire  northern  side  of  the  court.  There  are  two  doorways,  one  open  and  one  closed  by  the 
masonry  of  the  Chapel  of  Calvary,  and  above  each  door  is  a  window.  The  whole  dates  from 
the  twelfth  century,  and  forms  part  of  the  work  of  the  Crusaders  when  they  remodelled  the 
church.  Some  of  the  ornamentation  is  vepy  similar  to  that  which  may  be  seen  in  many 
churches  in  Normandy  at  the  present  day,  and  a  bas-relief  over  one  of  the  doors,  representing 
with  much  spirit  the  entrance  of  Christ  into  Jerusalem,  is  supposed  to  have  been  executed  in 
France.  The  string  courses  above  the  doors  and  windows  are  partly  made  up  of  blocks  of 
stone  belonging  to  a  very  beautiful  cornice  of  classical  design,  almost  identical  with  that  of  the 
cornice  of  the  Golden  Gate  in  the  east  wall  above  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  At  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  court  is  a  small  chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Mary  of  Egypt.  Above  this  chapel 
is  another  called  the  Chapel  of  the  Agony,  which  is  adjacent  to  Mount  Calvary,  and  belongs 
to  the  Latins.  In  the  north-east  corner  of  the  court  is  the  fine  Campanile  or  Bell  Tower, 
projecting  from  the  facade,  and  once  standing  free,  but  now  incorporated  with  the  church. 
The  tower  was  erected  towards  the  close  of  the  Latin  occupation  of  Jerusalem,  about  1170, 
and  as  late  as  1678  consisted  of  five  stories.  There  are  at  present  only  three  stories,  so 
that  the  striking  effect  which  must  have  been  produced  by  the  tower  when  it  was  in  its 
original  state  is  quite  lost. 

On  entering  the  church  we  pass  at  once  into  the  south  transept  of  the  Church  of  the 
Crusaders,  which,  in  consequence  of  the  changes  made  in  1808,  has  now  the  appearance  of  a 
vestibule.  Here,  on  the  left-hand  side,  some  members  of  the  Moslem  family  which  has  charge 
of  the  keys  will  always  be  found  seated  when  the  church  is  open  ;  and  the  visitor  has  directly 
in  front  of  him  the  "  Stone  of  Unction,"  which  is  said  to  mark  the  spot  on  which  our  Lord's 
body  was  laid  when  it  was  anointed  after  having  been  taken  down  from  the  cross.  The  stone, 
a  large  slab  of  limestone,  is  raised  a  few  inches  above  the  level  of  the  floor,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  placed  in  its  present  position  when  the  church  was  rebuilt.  A  few  paces  to  the  left 
of  the  stone  is  the  spot  where  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  other  women  stood  when  the  body  of 
Christ  was  anointed,  and  beyond  it  lies  the  Rotunda,  which  is  sixty-seven  feet  in  diameter. 
The  Rotunda  formerly  had  twelve  large  columns  which  supported  the  dome,  but  there  are 
now  eighteen  piers  which  carry  a  clerestory  and  a  dome  open  at  the  top.  A  vaulted  aisle 
with  three  apses,  now  walled  up  and  divided  into  chambers,  runs  round  the  western  half  of 
the  Rotunda. 

In  the  centre  is  the  Shrine  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  (see  page  17),  built,  in  the  very  worst 
taste,  of  the  ruddy  coloured'  limestone  known  at  Jerusalem  as  "  Santa  Croce  "  marble.  The 
building  is  about  twenty-six  feet  long  and  eighteen  feet  wide.  Its  western  end  is  polygonal  in 
shape,  its  eastern,  square ;  and  the  interior  is  divided  into  two  chapels,  one  on  the  east,  known 
as  the  Chapel  of  the  Angels,  the  other  containing  the  Sepulchre  of  Christ.    In  front  of  the 


JERUSALEM. 


19 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  HELENA,  CHURCH  OF  THE  HOLY  SEPULCHRE. 
Showing  the  entrance  to  the  Cave  of  the  Cross. 


20 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


entrance  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Angels  are  gigantic  wax  candles,  lighted  only  on  certain  solemn 
occasions,  and  here  the  pilgrims  take  off  their  shoes  before  venturing  to  tread  on  the  holy 
ground  within.  On  either  side  of  the  entrance  are  two  holes  in  the  wall  through  which  the 
"  Holy  Fire  "  is  given  out  at  the  Greek  Easter ;  and  in  the  centre  of  the  chapel  itself,  encased 
in  marble  and  resting  on  a  pedestal,  is  a  portion  of  the  stone  that  was  rolled  away  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Sepulchre.  At  the  western  end  of  the  antechamber  is  a  low  doorway,  the  mouth 
of  the  tomb,  over  which  is  a  bas-relief  representing  the  figure  of  our  Lord  rising  from  the  grave, 
with  the  angel  seated  on  the  right-hand  side,  and  the  two  Marys  bringing  incense  and  spices 
for  the  anointment  on  the  left.  The  tomb  chamber  is  entirely  lined  with  marble,  and  from  its 
roof  hang  forty-three  lamps,  of  which  thirteen  belong  to  the  Latins,  thirteen  to  the  Greeks, 
thirteen  to  the  Armenians,  and  four  to  the  Copts.  These  lamps  are  kept  burning  day  and 
night.  The  tomb  is  a  raised  bench  two  feet  high,  six  feet  four  inches  long,  and  three  feet 
wide,  covered  by  a  marble  slab  which  has  a  groove  cut  transversely  across  the  centre.  Above 
the  tomb  are  three  bas-reliefs  in  white  marble  representing  the  resurrection. 

A  small  chapel  belonging  to  the  Copts  is  attached  to  the  western  end  of  the  shrine  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre,  and  nearly  opposite  to  it  a  door  leads  from  the  Rotunda  to  the  Chapel  of  th-e 
Syrians,  and  thence  to  the  chamber  which  contains  the  tombs  of  Joseph  and  Nicodemus.  The 
tombs  are  of  the  kind  known  as  "  kokim  "  (deep  horizontal  recesses),  and  there  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  that  the  chamber  is  an  ancient  Jewish  sepulchre  containing,  when  perfect,  six 
"  kokim  "  for  the  reception  of  bodies.  This  would  at  first  sight  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
ground  upon  which  the  church  is  built  lay  without  the  walls  of  the  ancient  city ;  but  we  know 
that  some  of  the  kings  were  buried  in  Jerusalem,  and  it  is  doubtful  to  what  extent  the  Jews, 
before  the  Captivity,  buried  their  dead  outside  the  walls.  At  the  time  of  the  Roman  siege 
one  tomb  at  least  lay  within  the  walls,  for  it  is  referred  to  by  Josephus  as  a  well-known  object. 

North  of  the  shrine  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  the  spot  is  pointed  out  where  our  Lord 
appeared  to  Mary  Magdalene  as  a  gardener,  and  a  little  beyond  it  is  the  Latin  Chapel  of  the 
Apparition,  which  commemorates  the  appearance  of  Christ  to  his  mother  after  the  Resurrection. 
Behind  the  chapel  is  the  Monastery  of  the  Franciscans  who  live  within  the  church,  and  in  the 
adjacent  sacristy  are  kept  the  sword  and  spurs  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon. 

Directly  east  of  the  Sepulchre  is  the  large  Greek  church,  which  occupies  the  site  of  the 
church  of  the  Crusaders,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1808.  It  is  profusely  decorated,  and  contains  a 
broken  column  said  to  mark  the  centre  or  navel  of  the  earth.  The  church  is  separated  from 
the  aisles  that  surround  it  by  a  partition  wall,  through  which  a  door  leads  to  the  two  Greek 
chapels  of  the  "  Prison"  and  the  "  Bonds"  of  Christ.  This  portion  of  the  church  appears  to 
have  been  little  damaged  by  the  fire.  Passing  along  the  north  aisle,  the  first  chapel  belongs 
to  the  Greeks,  and  is  dedicated  to  Longinus,  the  soldier  who  pierced  Jesus'  side  with  a  spear; 
beyond  this  is  a  closed  doorway,  which  once  formed  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  church  ;  and 
then  the  Armenian  Chapel  of  the  "  Parting  of  the  Vestments."  Still  further,  at  the  east  end  of 
the  south  aisle,  is  the  Greek  Chapel  of  the  "  Crowning  with  Thorns,"  which  contains  the 


THE  CHAPEL  IN  THE  CAVE  OF  THE  CROSS, 
Called  "  The  Chapel  of  the  Invention  {i.e.  the  finding)  of  the  Cross.' 


22 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


"  Column  of  the  Derision,"  a  fragment  of  a  granite  column  on  which  Christ  is  said  to  have  sat 
when  he  was  crowned  with  thorns  and  mocked  by  those  that  stood  near.  In  the  same  chapel 
is  also  kept  a  crown  of  thorns,  made  from  the  species  of  shrub  which  is  supposed  by  tradition 
to  have  been  that  which  supplied  the  original  crown.    Between  the  two  last-mentioned  chapels 


PILGRIMS  OF  THE  GREEK  CHURCH  BUYING  CANDLES, 
To  be  lighted  by  the  "  Holy  Fire  "  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  at  the  celebration  of  the  Easter  Festival. 


a  flight  of  steps  leads  down  from  the  east  aisle  to  the  Chapel  of  Helena,  a  portion  of  the 
church  which  does  not  seem  to  have  suffered  during  the  fire  (see  page  19),  The  chapel  is 
divided  into  three  aisles  by  four  stunted  columns  with  heavy-looking  capitals,  which  carry  a 
dome  that  rises  above  the  level  of  the  courtyard  of  the  Abyssinian  Monastery,  and  gives  light 


JERUSALEM. 


23 


to  the  chapel  below.  There  are  two  apses  containing  altars  dedicated  respectively  to 
St.  Helena  and  the  Penitent  Thief.  The  position  of  the  third  apse  is  occupied  by  an  opening 
through  which  a  flight  of  steps  leads  down  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Invention  of  the  Cross  (see 
page  21).  In  the  Chapel  of  St.  Helena  the  place  is  pointed  out  where  the  Empress  sat 
whilst  the  workmen  were  searching  for  the  cross  in  the  cave  below,  which  appears  to  have  been 
either  an  old  cistern  or  a  natural  cavern  artificially  enlarged.  It  now  contains  an  altar  and 
a  life-size  statue  of  the  Empress.  According  to  tradition,  the  search  instituted  by  the  Empress 
Helena  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  three  crosses  ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  tablet  bearing  the 
inscription  had  become  detached,  and  it  was  at  first  impossible  to  distinguish  the  cross  upon 
which  our  Saviour  died.  This  difficulty  was  overcome  by  taking  the  three  crosses  to  a  noble 
lady  of  Jerusalem  who  was  afflicted  with  an  incurable  illness  ;  the  crosses  of  the  thieves  had 
no  effect,  but  on  being  touched  with  the  true  cross  her  disease  left  her,  and  she  sprang  from 
her  couch  whole  and  well. 

Not  far  from  the  entrance  to  the  church,  and  close  to  the  "  Stone  of  Unction,"  is  the 
Chapel  of  Adam.  Here  Adam,  and  also  Melchizedek,  are  supposed  to  have  been  buried. 
At  the  entrance  to  the  chapel  once  stood  the  tombs  of  Godfrey  and  Baldwin  ;  and  at  its 
eastern  end  may  be  seen  the  rock  of  Calvary,  with  the  rent  made  in  it  by  the  earthquake  at 
the  time  of  the  Crucifixion.  Doubts  have  frequently  been  raised  with  respect  to  the  genuine 
character  of  the  rock  of  Calvary,  and  it  has  even  been  stated  that  it  was  built  up  with  blocks 
of  granite ;  but  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  the  greater  portion,  if  not  the  whole,  is  natural 
rock,  the  same  limestone  that  is  seen  at  the  tombs  of  Joseph  and  Nicodemus,  and  in  other 
places  in  the  church.  The  floor  of  the  Chapel  of  the  "  Exaltation  of  the  Cross  "  is  fifteen 
feet  above  that  of  the  Rotunda,  and  here  is  shown  the  summit  of  Calvary  and  the  hole  in 
which  the  cross  is  said  to  have  been  placed.  By  the  side  of  this  chapel  and  on  the  same  level, 
being  supported  by  vaults,  is  the  Latin  Chapel  of  the  Crucifixion,  erected  where  Christ, 
according  to  tradition,  was  nailed  to  the  cross. 

No  description  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  would  be  complete  without  some 
notice  of  the  ceremony  of  the  "  Holy  Fire,"  which,  to  the  disgrace  of  Eastern  Christianity,  is 
enacted  at  the  present  day,  and  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  graphic  words  of  Dean 
Stanley :  "  The  Chapel  of  the  Sepulchre  rises  from  a  dense  mass  of  pilgrims,  who  sit  or  stand 
wedged  round  it ;  whilst  round  them,  and  between  another  equally  dense  mass,  which  goes 
round  the  walls  of  the  church  itself,  a  lane  is  formed  by  two  lines,  or  rather  two  circles,  of 
Turkish  soldiers  stationed  to  keep  order.  For  the  spectacle  which  is  about  to  take  place, 
nothing  can  be  better  suited  than  the  form  of  the  Rotunda,  giving  galleries  above  for  the 
spectators  and  an  open  space  below  for  the  pilgrims  and  their  festival.  For  the  next  two 
hours  everything  is  tranquil.  Nothing  indicates  what  is  coming,  except  that  two  or  three 
pilgrims  who  have  got  close  to  the  aperture  keep  their  hands  fixed  in  it  with  a  clench  never 
relaxed.  It  is  about  noon  that  this  circular  lane  is  suddenly  broken  through  by  a  tangled 
group  rushing  violently  round  till  they  are  caught  by  one  of  the  Turkish  soldiers.    It  seems 


24 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


VIA  DOLOROSA 


occupied  by  a  race,  a 


whirl, 


to  be  the  belief  of  the  Arab 
Greeks  that  unless  they  run 
round  the  Sepulchre  a  certain 
number  of  times  the  fire  will  not 
come.  Possibly,  also,  there  is 
some  reminiscence  of  the  funeral 
games  and  races  round  the  tomb 
of  an  ancient  chief.  Accordingly, 
the  night  before,  and  from  this 
time  forward  for  two  hours,  a 
succession  of  gambols  takes 
place,  which  an  Englishman  can 
only  compare  to  a  mixture  of 
prisoner's  base,  football,  and 
leap-frog,  round  and  round  the 
Holy  Sepulchre.  First  he  sees 
these  tangled  masses  of  twenty, 
thirty,  fifty  men,  starting  in  a 
run,  catching  hold  of  each  other, 
lifting  one  of  themselves  on  their 
shoulders,  sometimes  on  their 
heads,  and  rushing  on  with  him 
till  he  leaps  off,  and  some  one 
else  succeeds ;  some  of  them 
dressed  in  sheep-skins,  some 
almost  naked,  one  usually  pre- 
ceding the  rest  as  a  fugleman, 
clapping  his  hands,  to  which  they 
respond  in  like  manner,  adding 
also  wild  howls,  of  which  the 
chief  burden  is  '  This  is  the 
tomb  of  Jesus  Christ !  —  God 
save  the  Sultan  ! — Jesus  Christ 
has  redeemed  us  ! '  What  begins 
in  the  lesser  groups  soon  grows 
in  magnitude  and  extent,  till  at 
last  the  whole  of  the  circle  be- 
tween the  troops  is  continually 
a  torrent  of  these  wild  figures,  like  the  witches'  Sabbath  in 


HOMO  ARCH. 


JERUSALEM. 


25 


'  Faust,'  wheeling  round  the  Sepulchre.  Gradually  the  frenzy  subsides  or  is  checked,  the 
course  is  cleared,  and  out  of  the  Greek  Church  on  the  east  of  the  Rotunda  a  long  procession 


HOUSE  OF  SAINT  VERONICA,  IN  THE  VIA  DOLOROSA. 
The  peasant  walking  up  the  street,  wearing  an  embroidered  abai,  or  cloak  made  of  goats'  hair,  is  carrying  a  plough.    On  the  right  sits 

a  seller  of  fruit  under  an  awning  made  of  his  cloak. 


M^ith  embroidered  banners,  supplying  in  their  ritual  the  want  of  images,  begins  to  defile  round 
the  Sepulchre. 

"  From  this  moment  the  excitement,  which  has  been  before  confined  to  the  runners  and 
dancers,  becomes  universal.     Hedged  in  by  soldiers,  the  two  huge  masses  of  pilgrims  still 
5 


26 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


remain  in  their  places,  all  joining,  however,  in  a  wild  succession  of  yells,  through  which  are 
caught  from  time  to  time,  strangely,  almost  affectingly,  mingled,  the  chants  of  the  procession — 
the  solemn  chants  of  the  Church  of  Basil  and  Chrysostom  mingled  with  the  yells  of  savages. 
Thrice  the  procession  passes  round  ;  at  the  third  time  the  two  lines  of  Turkish  soldiers  join 


THE  HOUSES  OF  THE  RICH  AND  POOR  MAN,  DIVES  AND  LAZARUS. 
This  is  the  most  picturesque  group  of  buildings  in  the  Via  Dolorosa.     In  the  foreground  are  a  Bedouin  mounted  on  a  camel  laden  with 
forage,  and  an  Ashkenazi  Jew  conversing  with  a  water-seller. 


and  fall  in  behind.  One  great  movement  sways  the  multitude  from  side  to  side.  The  crisis 
of  the  day  is  now  approaching.  The  presence  of  the  Turks  is  believed  to  prevent  the  descent 
of  fire,  and  at  this  point  it  is  that  they  are  driven,  or  consent  to  be  driven,  out  of  the  Church. 
In  a  moment  the  confusion  as  of  a  battle  and  a  victory  pervades  the  Church.     In  every 


JERUSALEM. 


27 


direction  the  raging  mob  bursts  in  upon  the  troops,  who  pour 
out  of  the  Church  at  the  south-east  corner.     71ie  procession  is 
broken  through,  the  banners  stagger  and  waver.    They  stagger, 
and  waver,  and  fall,  amidst  the  flight  of  priests,  bishops,  and 
standard-bearers  hither  and  thither  before  the  tremendous  s 
rush.    In  one  small  but  compact  band  the  Bishop  of  Petra 
(who  is  on  this  occasion  the  Bishop  of  'the  Fire,'  the  repre- 
sentative  of  the  patriarch)  is  hurried  to  the  Chapel  of  the 
Sepulchre,  and  the  door  is  closed  behind  him.    The  whole 
church  is  now  one  heaving  sea  of  heads.    One  vacant  ^ 
spot  alone  is  left — a  narrow  lane  from  the  aijerture     S  '',!'-'"' 


A  SHOEMAKER'S  SHOP,  JERUSALEM. 
Mohammedan  shoemakers  at  work. 


28 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


on  the  north  side  of  the  chapel  to  the  wall  of  the  church.  By  the  aperture  itself  stands 
a  priest  to  catch  the  fire ;  on  each  side  of  the  lane  hundreds  of  bare  arms  are  stretched  out 
like  the  branches  of  a  leafless  forest — like  the  branches  of  a  forest  quivering  in  some  violent 
tempest  ..... 

"  At  last  the  moment  comes.  A  bright  flame  as  of  burning  wood  appears  inside  the 
hole — the  light,  as  every  educated  Greek  knows  and  acknowledges,  kindled  by  the  bishop 
within — the  light,  as  every  pilgrim  believes,  of  the  descent  of  God  himself  upon  the  Holy 
Tomb.  Any  distinct  feature  or  incident  is  lost  in  the  universal  whirl  of  excitement  which 
envelops  the  church  as  slowly,  gradually,  the  fire  spreads  from  hand  to  hand,  from  taper  to 
taper,  through  that  vast  multitude,  till  at  last  the  whole  edifice,  from  gallery  to  gallery  and 
through  the  area  below,  is  one  wide  blaze  of  thousands  of  burning  candles.  It  is  now  that, 
according  to  some  accounts,  the  bishop  or  patriarch  is  carried  out  of  the  chapel  in  triumph, 
on  the  shoulders  of  the  people,  in  a  fainting  state,  '  to  give  the  impression  that  he  is  overcome 
by  the  glory  of  the  Almighty,  from  whose  immediate  presence  he  is  supposed  to  come.'  It  is 
now  that  the  great  rush  to  escape  from  the  rolling  smoke  and  suffocating  heat,  and  to  carry 
the  lighted  tapers  into  the  streets  and  houses  of  Jerusalem,  through  the  one  entrance  to  the 
church,  leads  at  times  to  the  violent  pressure  which  in  1834  cost  the  lives  of  hundreds.  For 
a  short  time  the  pilgrims  run  to  and  fro,  rubbing  the  fire  against  their  faces  and  breasts  to 
attest  its  supposed  harmlessness.  But  the  wild  enthusiasm  terminates  from  the  moment  that 
the  fire  is  communicated  ;  and  perhaps  not  the  least  extraordinary  part  of  the  spectacle  is  the 
rapid  and  total  subsidence  of  a  frenzy  so  intense — the  contrast  of  the  furious  agitation  of  the 
morning  with  the  profound  repose  of  the  evening,  when  the  church  is  once  again  filled — 
through  the  area  of  the  Rotunda,  the  Chapels  of  Copt  and  Syrian,  the  subterranean  Church  of 
Helena,  the  great  nave  of  Constantine's  basilica,  the  stairs  and  platform  of  Calvary  itself,  with 
the  many  churches  above — every  part,  except  the  one  Chapel  of  the  Latin  Church,  filled  and 
overlaid  by  one  mass  of  pilgrims,  wrapt  in  deep  sleep  and  waiting  for  the  midnight  service. 

"  Such  is  the  Greek  Easter — the  greatest  moral  argument  against  the  identity  of  the 
spot  which  it  professes  to  honour — stripped,  indeed,  of  some  of  its  most  revolting  features, 
yet  still,  considering  the  place,  the  time,  and  the  intention  of  the  professed  miracle,  probably 
the  most  off"ensive  imposture  to  be  found  in  the  world." 

Intimately  connected  with  those  historical  and  legendary  events,  that  have  found  a  local 
habitation  within  the  walls  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  are  the  traditions  which 
during  the  course  of  centuries  have  clustered  round  certain  spots  in  the  narrow,  crooked 
streets  that  lead  from  the  Turkish  Barracks,  north  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  to  the  church — 
the  stations  of  the  Via  Dolorosa.  The  course  of  the  Via  Dolorosa  depends  on  the  site  of 
the  Praetorium,  or  residence  of  Pilate,  and  this  has  never  been  satisfactorily  ascertained.  At 
one  period  the  Praetorium  was  supposed  to  have  stood  on  the  eastern  hill,  Moriah  ;  at  another 
on  the  western,  the  modern  Zion  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  close  of  the  crusading  period  that 
its  present  position  was  assigned  to  it,  and  the  first  station  of  the  Via  Dolorosa  was  located 


JERUSALEM. 


29 


in  the  above-mentioned  Turkish  Barracks  (see  page  30).  The  second  station  is  in  the  street 
below,  where,  at  the  foot  of  the  Scala  Santa,  which  led  to  the  Judgment  Hall,  the  cross  was 
laid  upon  Christ.  A  few  paces  westward  the  street  is  spanned  by  the  Ecce  Homo  Arch 
(see  page  24),  which  marks  the  spot  where  Pilate  brought  Jesus  forth  "  wearing  the  crown 
of  thorns  and  the  purple  robe,"  and  presented  Him  to  the  multitude  with  the  memorable 
words,  "  Behold  the  man ! "  (John  xix.  5).  The  arch  has  all  the  appearance  of  a  Roman 
triumphal  arch  of  the  time  of  Hadrian.  It  consists  of  a  large  central  arch,  with  a  smaller 
one  on  the  north  side  which  has  been  included  in  and  forms  the  eastern  termination  of  the 
Church  of  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Zion.  Following  the  street  downwards  to  the 
valley  the  third  station  is  reached,  a  broken  column  near  the  Austrian  Hospice  which  indicates 
the  place  where  Christ  fell  under  the  cross.  A  little  lower  down  is  the  house  of  Lazarus 
(see  page  26),  and  the  fourth  station,  where  Christ  met  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  and  then  follow 
the  house  of  Dives,  with  its  handsome  doorway,  and  the  fifth  station,  where,  our  Lord  having 
fallen  for  the  second  time,  Simon  of  Cyrene  took  up  the  cross.  A  short  ascent  leads  to 
the  house  of  St.  Veronica,  the  sixth  station  (see  page  25).  The  road  now  ascends  to  the 
street  which  connects  the  Bazaars  with  the  Damascus  Gate,  and  here  at  the  crossing  is 
shown  the  seventh  station,  the  so-called  "  Porta  Judiciaria."  The  eighth  station,  where 
Christ  addressed  the  women  who  accompanied  him  with  the  words,  "  Daughters  of  Jerusalem, 
weep  not  for  me,"  is  at  the  Monastery  of  St.  Caralombos  ;  the  ninth  station,  where  He  fell 
for  the  third  time,  is  in  front  of  the  Coptic  Convent  ;  the  tenth,  within  the  church,  marks  the 
spot  where  He  was  undressed  ;  the  eleventh  where  He  was  nailed  to  the  cross;  the  twelfth 
where  the  cross  was  raised  ;  the  thirteenth  where  He  was  taken  down  from  the  cross ;  and  the 
fourteenth  the  Sepulchre  itself  It  is,  perhaps,  needless  to  add  that  the  buildings  along  the 
Via  Dolorosa  are  modern,  and  that  the  "  stations  "  themselves  have  been  moved  from  place 
to  place  in  the  city  whenever  necessity  or  convenience  required  their  removal. 

Not  far  from  the  entrance  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  is  the  old  gateway  which 
formerly  led  into  the  pile  of  buildings  belonging  to  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  and  which  now, 
surmounted  by  the  Prussian  eagle,  gives  access  to  the  ground  presented  by  the  Sultan  to 
Prussia  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  Crown  Prince  to  Jerusalem  in  1869.  The  arch 
is  semicircular,  and  when  perfect  must  have  been  a  beautiful  specimen  of  twelfth-century  work. 
Round  the  arch  is  a  series  of  figures  in  stone,  now  much  mutilated,  but  once  representing  the 
months.  February  is  indicated  by  a  man  pruning,  July  by  a  reaper,  August  by  a  thresher, 
September  by  a  grape-gatherer,  &c.  In  the  centre  are  the  sun  and  moon — "  Sol  "  a  half  figure 
holding  a  disc  on  high,  "  Luna  "  a  female  with  a  crescent.  Above  the  arch  is  a  cornice  enriched 
with  figures  of  lions  and  other  animals,  carved  with  great  spirit,  apparently  by  the  same  man 
who  cut  those  in  the  cornice  above  the  Chapel  of  the  Egyptian  Mary,  near  the  door  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  In  the  close  vicinity  of  the  arch  is  the  minaret  of  the  Mosque 
of  Omar  (see  page  35),  erected  141 7  a.d.,  and  supposed  to  mark  the  place  where  Omar 
prayed  when  he  entered  Jerusalem  after  its  capitulation.    The  mosque  occupies  the  site  of  the 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


MASJED  EL  MAJAHIDIN— MOSQUE  OF  THE  KNIGHTS  OF  THE  CRESCENT. 
Turkish  Barracks,  commonly  called  the  Tower  of  Antonia.    The  cactus  and  caper-bush  growing  on  the  wall  on  the  right  are  especially 

characteristic  of  mural  vegetation  in  Jerusalem. 


JERUSALEM. 


31 


Kubbet  Dirka,  built  by  a  nephew  of  Saladin  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Extensive  excavations 
have  been  made  by  the  German  Government  in  the  old  home  of  the  Hospitallers.  The  church 
dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  known  as  Maria  Latina,  the  monastery  of  the  same  name,  and 
portions  of  the  Hospice  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  have  been  cleansed  of  the  rubbish  and 
filth  which  encumbered  them,  and  much  of  interest  has  been  brought  to  light.  The  south 
wall  has  a  staircase  attached  to  it  which  gives  access  to  the  cloisters,  and  to  the  old  refectory 
recently  fitted  up  as  a  German  Protestant  Chapel  at  the  private  cost  of  the  German  Emperor. 
The  other  buildings  are  being  repaired  or  rebuilt  as  schools  and  other  establishments  for  the 
use  of  the  German  community  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  Church  of  Maria  Latina  is  to  be  restored 
in  the  original  style. 

From  the  Bazaars,  which  lie  immediately  east  of  the  old  Hospice  of  the  Knights  of  St. 
John,  a  street  runs  directly  to  the  Bab  el  Amud  (Gate  of  the  Column),  commonly  known  as  the 
Damascus  Gate  (see  page  41).  This,  the  most  picturesque  of  the  city  gateways,  through  which 
passes  the  great  road  to  Nablus  and  Damascus,  is  the  work  of  Sultan  Suleiman,  and  dates 
from  the  sixteenth  century.  The  gateway  which  preceded  it  was  known  in  the  twelfth  century 
as  that  of  St.  Stephen,  from  the  Church  of  St.  Stephen,  which  then  stood  a  few  yards  distant 
without  the  walls,  on  the  place  where  the  first  Christian  martyr  is  supposed  to  have  been 
stoned.  The  scene  of  St.  Stephen's  martyrdom  is  now  shown  on  the  east  side  of  the  city 
without  the  present  St.  Stephen's  Gate.  The  Damascus  Gate  is  built  over  an  older  gateway, 
possibly  as  old  as  the  time  of  Hadrian,  which  can  just  be  seen  rising  above  the  rubbish. 
Flanking  the  gate  are  two  towers  built  with  stones  taken  from  the  ancient  walls,  and  perhaps 
resting  on  the  foundations  of  the  older  walls  of  the  city. 

*  The  Bazaars  stretch  southwards  from  the  Church  of  Maria  Latina  to  David  Street. 
They  are  not  remarkable  for  architectural  beauty  or  for  the  value  of  the  wares  offered  for 
sale,  but  in  the  early  morning  they  are  filled  with  a  busy  throng  amidst  which  representatives 
of  almost  every  nationality  may  be  found.  This  is  especially  the  case  at  Easter,  when  the 
population  of  Jerusalem  is  for  two  or  three  weeks  apparently  doubled  by  the  presence  of 
thousands  of  pilgrims.  Christians  and  Moslems.  For  at  this  season  Moslem  devotees  come 
from  all  parts  of  the  Turkish  Empire  and  even  from  Lidia  to  pray  within  the  sacred  enclosure 
on  Mount  Moriah,  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  and  to  visit  the  reputed  Tomb  of  Moses  at  the 
north-west  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Probably  this  pilgrimage  was  instituted  to  counterbalance  the 
great  influx  of  Christians,  especially  of  the  Greek  and  Oriental  Churches,  who  come  from 
all  parts  of  Russia  and  Greece  and  from  remote  Turkish  provinces,  to  attend  the  Easter 
services  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  (see  page  22)  and  to  bathe  in  the  river  Jordan. 
This  is  the  harvest  time  for  the  people  of  Jerusalem.  Not  only  is  every  khan,  convent,  and 
hotel  crowded,  but  tents  are  pitched  outside  the  walls,  while  in  all  available  open  spaces  within 
the  city  the  poorer  pilgrims  make  themselves  at  home,  cooking  their  simple  food  in  the  open 
air  and  resting  at  night  under  the  stars.      Men,  women,  and  children,  wrapped  in  their 

*  The  following  pages  (to  page  37),  describing  the  Bazaars  and  Markets  of  Jerusalem,  are  contributed  by  Miss  Mary  Eliiia  Rogers. 


32 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


travelling  rugs,  crowd  together  in  family  groups  till  they  are  hardly  distinguishable  from 
their  baggage. 

A  favourite  site  for  a  bivouac  is  the  open  space  just  within  the  Jaffa  Gate;  but  pilgrims 
and  wayfarers  who  select  this  spot  must  move  at  a  very  early  hour  in  the  morning,  to  make 
way  for  the  peasants  who  come  from  the  neighbouring  villages  with  daily  supplies  of  fruit, 


A  GROCER'S  SHOP,  JERUSALEM. 
Two  peasant  women  seated  in  the  foreground,  and  a  man  of  Silwan  (Siloam)  carrying  a  patched  goat's  skm  filled  with  water  from  Job's  Well. 


vegetables,  and  poultry  for  Jerusalem,  This  open  space  probably  represents  the  "  market-place" 
mentioned  by  Josephus  as  being  situated  on  the  western  hill,  prior  to  the  capture  of  the  city 
by  the  Romans  ;  and  here  the  wholesale  fruit  and  vegetable  market  is  now  held  every  day 
soon  after  sunrise.  Dusky  women  of  Bethany  and  Siloam,  in  long  blue  or  white  gowns,  with 
bright-coloured  kerchiefs  tied  round  their  heads,  bring  large  baskets  full  of  cucumbers, 


JERUSALEM. 


33 


tomatoes  and  onions,  and  other  garden  produce,  while  from  more  distant  villages,  especially 
Bethlehem  and  Artas,  troops  of  donkeys  come  laden  with  enormous  cauliflowers  and  turnips, 
guided  by  boys  in  white  shirts  girdled  with  broad  red  leather  belts.     The  pleasant-looking 


A  STREET  CAFE,  JERUSALEM. 
A  Bedouin  and  peasant  playing  at  a  game  called  dameh. 


Bethlehem  women,  wearing  crimson  and  yellow  striped  or  blue  gowns  with  long  white  linen 
veils,  carry  on  their  heads  baskets  of  grapes,  figs,  prickly  pears,  pomegranates,  and  apricots,  or 
whatever  fruit  is  in  season.  Sometimes  this  market-place  is  almost  blocked  up  with  piles  of 
melons,  or  with  oranges  and  lemons  from  Jaffa,  and  in  the  early  summer  time  roses  are  sold 
6 


34 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


here  by  weight  to  the  makers  of  conserves  and  attar  of  roses.  Hotel-keepers  and  servants 
from  the  various  convents  come  here  to  make  their  bargains,  and  turbaned  greengrocers  and 
itinerant  vendors  of  fruit  come  to  buy  their  stock  for  the  day.  Soon  the  place  is  crowded, 
and  the  bustle  of  buying  and  selling  begins.  No  purchase  is  effected  without  a  considerable 
amount  of  contention.  The  seller  does  not  usually  price  the  goods,  but  waits  for  an  offer. 
The  first  offer  is  always  absurdly  low.  The  seller  then  names  an  exorbitantly  high  price. 
For  instance,  a  dignified-looking  shopkeeper,  wearing  a  white  turban,  will  offer  three  piastres 
for  a  large  basket  full  of  tomatoes.  The  girl  in  charge  answers  indignantly,  "  I  will  carry 
my  tomatoes  back  to  Siloam  rather  than  take  less  than  fifteen  !" — "  O  thou  most  greedy  of  the 
greedy,  I  will  give  no  more  than  six  ! " — "  O  possessor  of  a  tightly  closed  hand,  I  will  not 
take  less  than  twelve !  How  shall  I  buy  the  rice  for  my  mother  if  I  give  away  the  fruits  of 
her  garden?"  Finally  she  obtains  seven  and  a  half  piastres  for  her  tomatoes,  and  goes  away 
perfectly  satisfied,  having  argued  with  pertinacity  for  the  half  piastre.  - 

In  an  hour  or  two  the  market  people  disperse,  and  only  a  few  retail  sellers  of  fruit  or  of 
rude  pottery  remain.  The  illustration  on  page  i  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  this  place  as  it 
appears  during  the  midday  hours. 

As  soon  as  the  market  is  over  the  crowds  increase  in  the  bazaars.  The  narrow  bazaar,  of 
which  a  bird's-eye  glimpse  is  shown  on  page  9,  is  called  David  Street.  It  opens  into  the 
market-place,  and  is  paved  with  shallow  steps  as  smooth  as  polished  marble,  descending 
towards  the  east,  and  generally  littered  with  vegetable  refuse.  The  shops  on  each  side  of  the 
way  are  like  large  cupboards  raised  one  or  two  feet  from  the  ground.  Within  these  recesses 
the  shopkeepers  sit  at  their  ease  gravely  smoking  in  the  midst  of  their  wares.  Damascus  and 
Aleppo  silks,  Manchester  prints  and  calicoes,  Constantinople  and  Swiss  muslin  coloured  veils, 
are  displayed,  and  farther  on  pipes  and  hardware  and  dried  fruits  may  be  found.  To  the 
right  are  the  bazaars  leading  to  the  Jewish  quarter,  and  here  most  of  the  busiest  workers 
congregate — tailors,  embroiderers,  tinsmiths,  and  shoemakers.  The  engraving  on  page  27  gives 
a  good  idea  of  a  shoemaker's  shop  in  one  of  the  most  narrow  but  busy  bazaars  in  the  city.  It 
is  close  to  an  old  archway  overgrown  with  cactus  and  henbane.  Two  men  are  engaged  at  work. 
The  wearer  of  the  earrings,  the  master,  is  seated  at  a  bench  formed  of  a  solid  block  of  wood, 
and  is  vigorously  using  his  mallet  to  beat  into  solidity  a  piece  of  leather  for  the  sole  of  a  shoe, 
while  from  the  bowl  of  the  neglected  narghileh  at  his  side  a  long  curling  column  of  smoke 
rises  towards  the  dilapidated  roof,  and  a  lesser  column  issues  from  the  mouthpiece  which  rests 
on  the  edge  of  the  stall.  The  poor  old  short-sighted  assistant  squatting  on  the  floor,  and 
making  a  bench  of  his  left  leg,  is  patiently  plying  his  awl  and  his  waxed  thread.  The  interior 
of  the  shop  is  fitted  up  with  rude  shelves,  on  which  are  ranged  in  rows  heavy  red  shoes  with 
pointed  and  turned-up  toes  and  a  few  clumsy-looking  lasts.  Outside,  on  the  large  smooth 
round  stones  (which  give  a  fair  example  of  the  usual  kind  of  pavement  on  level  ground 
in  Jerusalem),  may  be  seen  the  shoes  of  the  occupants  of  the  shop,  two  water-coolers  of  native 
pottery,  and  a  roll  of  leather  soaking  in  a  bowl  of  water. 


JERUSALEM. 


It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  is  the  best  shoe- 
maker's shop  to  be  found  in  the  city.  There  is  one  not  far 
off  where  rows  of  large  red  boots,  the  pride  of  the  Bedouin 
chieftain,  and  red  slippers  and  shoes  of  all  sizes,  may  be 
found,  and  another  in  which  may  be  purchased  delicately 
made  Damascus  socks  of  yellow  kid,  like  boots,  to  be  worn 
by  ladies  under  their  yellow  shoes.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest 
delights  of  a  peasant  to  put  on  a  pair  of  new  shoes,  and 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  HOSPICE  OF  ST.  JOHN  AND  MINARET  OF  OMAR. 
A  muezzin  in  the  balcony  chanting  the  call  to  prayer.    Peasants  loading  a  camel  in  the  foreground,  and  a  townswoman  wearing  a  white 

izzar  and  dark  veil  in  the  distance. 


36 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


especially  to  see  all  his  family  newly  shod  for  a  fete  day.  In  the  same  neighbourhood  the 
cotton-cleaners  are  found,  one  of  whom,  a  Jew,  is  represented  on  page  44,  busy  at  work. 
Cotton  pods  are  brought  to  him  in  a  sack.  After  weighing  them,  he  separates  the  husks  and 
seeds  from  the  cotton  with  his  bow-string,  which  he  beats  vigorously  with  his  mallet.  On  a 
tray,  mounted  on  a  low  stool,  the  seeds  and  pods  may  be  seen  ;  these  will  be  weighed  with 
the  cotton  in  the  presence  of  the  owner  when  the  task  is  completed.  When  there  is  sufficient 
space  a  second  bow  is  used,  and  thus  a  double  spring  is  obtained.  The  smaller  bow  is 
attached  to  a  beam  overhead,  and  to  this  is  suspended  a  large  harp-shaped  bow,  called  a 
mandaf,  the  long  string  of  which  on  being  beaten  into  the  cotton  quickly  converts  it  into 
fleecy  clouds.  The  labour  of  holding  the  bow  is  avoided  by  thus  suspending  it,  and  the 
work  is  accomplished  with  surprising  rapidity. 

Cotton-cleaners  are  frequently  employed  in  private  houses  to  purify  and  lighten  mat- 
tresses and  divan  cushions  by  the  same  process. 

In  every  district  a  grocer's  shop  may  be  found,  and  on  page  32  a  typical  one  may  be 
seen.  The  grocer  in  his  striped  gown  and  coloured  turban  sits  on  his  shop-board  quietly 
smoking,  for  it  is  nearly  midday,  and  there  is  not  much  business  to  attend  to.  His  stock 
consists  of  baskets  of  Egyptian  rice  and  rice  from  the  Jordan,  a  good  supply  of  loaf  sugar 
and  coffee,  dried  fruits,  pistachio  nuts,  walnuts,  olives,  salt,  pepper,  and  all  kinds  of  spices. 
A  laden  camel  is  just  coming  into  the  picture,  making  a  growling  noise  and  ringing  his  bells. 
The  right  foot  of  the  rider  alone  is  visible.  In  advance  of  the  camel  comes  a  water-carrier 
from  Siloam,  with  a  patched  goatskin  filled  with  water  from  the  Bir  Eyub  (Job's  Well).  He 
rattles  his  brass  cups,  and  cries  out  in  a  shrill  voice,  "  May  God  compassionate  me  !  "  Two 
peasant  women  with  dishevelled  hair  and  yellow  kerchiefs  bound  round  their  stiff  red  cloth 
caps  are  resting  near  the  shop.  They  have  rings  in  their  noses  and  on  their  fingers,  but  their 
feet  are  bare.  Peasant  women  of  Judaea  are  not  generally  attractive  in  appearance.  The 
features  of  the  townspeople  are  much  more  refined,  and  there  are  many  women  and  girls, 
both  Christian  and  Moslem,  in  Jerusalem  whose  coloured  muslin  veils  hide  really  pretty  faces. 
Jewesses  do  not  veil  themselves,  but  the  younger  and  prettier  among  them  are  kept  very 
much  out  of  sight. 

From  David  Street  a  turning  towards  the  north,  called  Christian  Street,  leads  to  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  here  there  are  a  few  European  shops,  kept  by  Maltese, 
Italians,  and  Germans,  in  the  midst  of  the  truly  Oriental  barbers,  pipe-makers,  bakers'  shops, 
and  cafes.  A  good  example  of  one  of  the  less  important  street  cafes  is  shown  on  page  33. 
All  that  is  absolutely  necessary  is  a  nook  in  which  a  fire  can  be  made  for  the  preparation  of 
pipes  and  coffee,  a  supply  of  coffee  cups,  narghilehs,  and  long  pipes,  and  a  few  rush  seats  ;  but 
the  proprietor  adds  greatly  to  the  attractions  of  his  establishment  if  he  can  supply  a  board 
for  the  game  called  dameh,  at  which  a  Bedouin  and  a  peasant  are  represented  playing  in 
the  illustration.  In  the  evening  a  story-teller  or  a  singer  may  generally  be  found  here 
entertaining  a  group  of  smokers. 


JERUSALEM. 


37 


A  turning  eastward  out  of  Christian  Street  leads  through  dirty  crooked  streets  of  stairs 
and  arched  passages,  dark  and  dusty,  to  the  most  important  bazaars  and  khans,  which  are  in 
the  centre  of  the  city  (see  page  71). 
Here,  under  lofty  arcades,  the 
butchers',  fruiterers',  oil,  grain,  and 
leather  markets  are  held.  The 
butchers  call  out  loudly,  "  Oh,  every 
one  that  hath  money  let  him  come 
and  buy ! "  and  "  Oh,  such  a  one, 
come  and  buy!"  The  cry  of  the 
sellers  of  fruit  appears  to  be  more 
disinterested,  for  they  often  say  to  a 
passer-by,  "  Take  of  our  fruit  with- 
out money  and  without  price  ! "  but 
immediately  afterwards  they  will 
ask  him  an  exorbitant  sum  for  it ! 

Leaving  the  bazaars  and  turn- 
ing to  the  left  up  David  Street,  we 
approach  the  Haram  esh 
Shcrif,  one  of  the  most 
sacred  and  ancient  of  all 


STAIRCASE  LEADING  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  JOHN. 
A  Greek  priest  descending  the  stairs. 


38 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


holy  places.  Within  its  area  was,  according  to  tradition,  the  scene  of  Abraham's  sacrifice 
(Gen.  xxii.  3 — 14);  and  there  was  certainly  the  threshing  floor  which  David  bought  from 
Araunah  the  Jebusite  for  fifty  shekels  of  silver,  and  upon  which  he  built  an  altar  and  offered 
burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings.  There,  too,  were  the  successive  temples  of  Solomon, 
Zerubbabel,  and  Herod,  the  fortress  of  Antonia,  and  possibly  the  palace  of  Solomon  ;  and 
there  at  the  present  day  are  the  beautiful  "  Dome  of  the  Rock  "  and  the  Mosque  el  Aksa,  and 
the  buildings  which  were  once  the  home  of  the  Knights  Templars.  All  traces  of  the  altar 
and  of  the  temples  of  the  Jews  have  long  since  disappeared,  and  their  exact  positions  have 
for  years  been  amongst  the  most  fiercely  contested  points  of  Jerusalem  topography.  In  the 
midst  of  all  this  ruin  and  desolation  we  can,  however,  feel  that  the  hill  is  the  same  Mount 
Moriah  round  which  cluster  so  many  memories  connected  with  Jewish  history,  with  the 
earlier  and  later  years  of  our  Lord's  life,  and  with  the  ministry  of  the  Apostles,  and  that 
somewhere  on  its  surface  stood  the  building  which  excited  the  admiration  and  astonishment 
of  the  Queen  of  Sheba. 

The  sacred  ground,  or  Temple  Platform,  was  enclosed  and  supported  by  massive  retaining 
walls  which  are  described  by  the  Jewish  historian  in  glowing  terms.  The  enormous  height 
of  these  walls  and  the  magnificence  of  the  masonry,  almost  justifying  the  description  of 
Josephus,  have  been  fully  brought  to  light  by  the  excavations  undertaken  by  Captain  (now 
Lieut.-Col.)  Warren,  R.E.,  for  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  At  one  corner  the  solid 
masonry  rises  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  at  another  to  a  height  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  feet,  above  the  ground  ;  and  at  one  point  in  the  wall  a  great  stone, 
thirty-eight  feet  nine  inches  long,  four  feet  high,  and  ten  feet  deep,  has  been  used  at  a  height 
of  eighty-five  feet  from  the  surface.  Partially  concealed  as  the  walls  are,  here  by  ninety-five 
feet,  there  by  sixty  feet  of  rubbish,  they  still  fill  the  traveller  with  admiration,  and  they  must, 
when  fresh  from  the  builder's  hands,  have  been  the  finest  specimens  of  mural  masonry  in  the 
world.  It  was  with  such  walls  before  their  eyes  that  the  astonished  Jews  replied  to  our  Lord, 
"  Forty  and  six  years  was  this  Temple  in  building,  and  wilt  thou  rear  it  up  in  three  days  ?" 
Above  all  this  stood  the  Temple,  of  pure  white  glittering  stone,  covered  in  part  with  plates  of 
gold,  and  surrounded  by  its  courts  and  cloisters — a  tout  ensemble  unsurpassed  in  magnificence 
by  any  temple  of  ancient  times. 

One  of  the  finest  fragments  of  the  ancient  masonry  is  that  at  the  south-west  angle  of 
the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  but,  unfortunately,  only  a  comparatively  small  portion  of  the  older 
work  is  visible  above  ground.  No  mortar  has  been  used  in  building  the  wall,  and  the  great 
blocks  of  stone  are  so  beautifully  fitted  together  that  a  penknife  can  hardly  be  introduced 
between  the  joints.  The  faces  of  the  stones  are  also  finely  "  dressed,"  and  round  the  margin 
of  each  runs  a  chiselled  draft  from  two  to  five  inches  wide  and  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
deep.  Thirty-nine  feet  north  of  the  south-west  angle  is  the  fragment  of  an  old  arch  known 
as  "  Robinson's  Arch  "  (see  page  72),  from  the  fact  that  it  was  first  brought  to  notice  by  the 
eminent  American,  Dr.  Robinson,  who  may  well  be  looked  upon  as  the  foremost  pioneer 


JERUSALEM. 


39 


in  the  systematic  and  scientific  exploration  of  Palestine.  The  arch  is  fifty  feet  long,  and  it 
had  a  span  of  forty-two  feet.  Portions  of  the  three  lower  courses,  in  which  are  stones  from 
nineteen  to  twenty-five  feet  long,  alone  remain,  and  these,  from  the  appearance  and  position 
of  the  stones,  evidently  formed  part  of  the  original  wall.  The  remaining  stones  of  the  arch 
were  found  lying,  just  as  they  fell,  on  a  pavement  of  polished  stone,  more  than  forty  feet 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  near  them  a  portion  of  the  pier  was  also  discovered. 
Under  the  pavement  were  the  remains  of  an  older  arch,  and  lower  still  a  remarkable  rock- 
hewn  channel  for  the  conveyance  of  sweet  water,  which  was  in  existence  long  before  the 
Haram  wall  was  built,  and  which  may,  perhaps,  have  been  executed  by  order  of  King 
Hezekiah,  who  is  known  to  have  undertaken  extensive  works  in  connection  with  the  water 
supply  of  Jerusalem.  The  position  of  "  Robinson's  Arch,"  and  its  dimensions,  seem  to 
indicate  that  it  formed  the  first  of  a  series  of  arches  which  supported  a  broad  flight  of  steps 
leading  from  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  to  the  centre  aisle  of  the  Royal  Cloisters,  "  Stoa  Basilica," 
which  ran  along  the  south  wall  of  Herod's  Temple.  The  arch  may  also  mark  the  position 
of  the  fourth  gate  on  the  western  side  of  the  Temple,  which  Josephus  says  "  led  to  the  other 
city,  where  the  road  descended  down  into  the  valley  by  a  great  number  of  steps,  and  thence 
up  again  by  the  ascent."  The  "Stoa  Basilica"  was  six  hundred  feet  long  and  one  hundred 
feet  wide.  It  was  divided  into  three  aisles  by  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  Corinthian  columns  ; 
and  the  centre  aisle  was  one  hundred  feet,  the  side  aisles  each  fifty  feet,  high.  The  roofs 
were  adorned  with  deep  sculptures  in  wood  ;  the  high  part  in  the  middle  was  of  polished 
stone;  and  the  whole  was  finished  off  with  much  magnificence.  The  dimensions  of  the 
cloisters,  in  plan  and  section,  are  almost  identical  with  those  which  York  Cathedral  would 
present  if  the  transepts  were  taken  off  the  sides  and  added  to  the  ends  ;  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  imagine  a  finer  effect  than  that  which  would  be  produced  by  a  flight  of  steps 
fifty  feet  wide,  carried  on  arches,  and  at  one  point  raised  fifty  feet  above  the  ground,  leading 
up  to  such  a  noble  pile  of  buildings. 

At  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  from  the  south-west  angle  there  is  a 
closed  gateway  in  the  wall  called  the  Gate  of  Mohammed,  but  generally  known  as  "  Barclay's 
Gate,"  from  its  fortunate  discoverer.  Dr.  Barclay,  an  American  missionary  to  Palestine.  The 
gateway,  which  is  evidently  one  of  those  that  Josephus  describes  as  leading  from  the  western 
cloisters  of  the  Temple  to  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  is  partly  concealed  by  rubbish  ;  but  excava- 
tions have  shown  that  it  was  about  eighteen  feet  ten  inches  wide  and  twenty-eight  feet  nine 
inches  high.  The  lintel  of  the  gate  is  one  enormous  stone,  and  its  sill  is  no  less  than  forty- 
nine  feet  nine  inches  above  the  rock.  The  approach  was  probably  by  a  solid  ramp  of  earth. 
Immediately  behind  the  closed  entrance  there  is  now  a  mosque,  in  which  is  shown  the  ring 
to  which  Mohammed  fastened  his  mysterious  steed,  Al  Borak,  on  the  occasion  of  his  famous 
night  journey ;  but  the  gateway  formerly  gave  access  to  a  vaulted  passage,  one  of  the 
approaches  to  Herod's  Temple,  which  ran  for  sixty-nine  feet  in  a  direction  at  right  angles 
to  the  wall,  to  a  domed  chamber  or  vestibule,  and  then,  turning  at  right  angles  to  the  south. 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


JERUSALEM. 


41 


gained  the  Temple  area  by  a  ramp  or  flight  of  steps.  North  of  "  Barclay's  Gate  "  is  the 
well-known  Wailing-place  of  the  Jews,  a  small  paved  area  in  front  of  a  portion  of  the 
retaining  wall  which  is  supposed  by  some  writers  to  be  the  nearest  point,  without  the 
enclosure,  to  the  position  of  the  "  Holy  of  Holies."  The  pavement  is  at  least  seventy  feet 
above  the  natural  surface  of  the  ground.  Jews  may  often  be  seen  sitting  for  hours  at  the 
Wailing-place  bent  in  sorrowful  meditation  over  the  history  of  their  race,  and  repeating 
oftentimes  the  words  of  the  Seventy-ninth  Psalm.  On  Fridays  especially,  Jews  of  both  sexes, 
of  all  ages,  and  from  all  countries,  assemble  in  large  numbers  to  kiss  the  sacred  stones  and 
weep  outside  the  precincts  they  may  not  enter  (see  page  43). 

About  six  hundred  feet  from  the  south-west  angle,  and  not  far  from  the  Wailing- 


THE  DAMASCUS  GATE— BAB  EL  AMUD  (GATE  OF  THE  COLUMN). 
The  northern  entrance  to  Jerusalem. 


place,  is  "Wilson's  Arch,"  one  of  the  finest  and  most  perfect  remains  in  Jerusalem,  named 
after  the  writer  of  these  pages.  The  arch  has  the  same  span  as  "Robinson's  Arch," 
and  it  formed  part  of  the  grand  viaduct,  of  which  other  portions  have  been  found,  that 
connected  Mount  Moriah  with  the  modern  Mount  Zion.  West  of  the  arch  Captain  Warren 
found  a  chamber,  the  "  Masonic  Hall,"  which  may  be  a  guard-house  of  the  stormy  period 
of  the  Maccabees,  and  a  long  subterranean  gallery,  which  was  apparently  constructed  to 
allow  soldiers  to  pass  freely  and  unnoticed  from  the  Citadel,  where  Herod's  palace  was 
situated,  to  the  Temple.  This  gallery  appears  to  have  been  that  which  was  used  by 
Simon,  son  of  Gioras,  when,  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  he  passed  from  the 
7 


42 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Upper  City  to  the  Temple  area,  and  attempted  to  escape  by  appearing  as  a  ghost  to  the 
Roman  soldiers  in  the  place  where  the  Temple  had  stood.  The  principal  approach  to 
the  Haram  esh  Sherif  is  by  David  Street,  which  passes  over  Wilson's  Arch  and  enters 
the  enclosure  on  a  level,  through  a  handsome  double  gate,  of  which  the  southern  portal 
is  called  Bab  es  Silsileh  (Gate  of  the  Chain),  and  the  northern  Bab  es  Salam  (Gate  of 
Peace).  At  the  bottom  of  the  left  jamb  of  the  latter  there  is  a  massive  stone  with  a 
marginal  draft,  the  north  end  of  which  corresponds  with  the  end  of  the  great  causeway 
arch  beneath.  The  gate  was  built  about  1492  a.d.,  and  is  ornamented  with  twisted  columns, 
which  were  probably  taken  from  some  building  erected  by  the  Crusaders.  In  front  of  the 
gateway  is  a  very  beautiful  fountain,  which  is  supplied  with  water  by  the  aqueduct  from 
Solomon's  Pools  (see  page  48). 

Beyond  the  Gate  of  the  Chain  is  "Warren's  Gate,"  named  after  Captain  Warren,  R.E., 
whose  excavations  have  thrown  so  much  light  on  the  topographical  features  of  ancient 
Jerusalem.  The  gate,  which  is  unfortunately  concealed  by  rubbish,  led  into  a  passage 
eighteen  feet  wide,  and  was,  perhaps,  the  second  gate  which  gave  access  to  the  suburbs 
from  the  west  side  of  the  Temple  enclosure.  A  short  distance  to  the  north  is  Bab 
el  Kattanin  (Gate  of  the  Cotton  Merchants),  a  handsome  Saracenic  portal  at  the  end  of 
the  old  Cotton  Bazaar,  said  to  have  been  repaired  in  a.d.  1336.  A  flight  of  steps 
leads  up  to  the  gate,  which  tradition  asserts  to  be  the  "  Beautiful  Gate "  of  the  Temple, 
where  Peter  healed  the  lame  man.  From  Wilson's  Arch  northwards  to  the  Gate  of  the 
Seraglio  the  retaining  wall  can  nowhere  be  seen  ;  but  beneath  the  latter  a  portion  has  been 
found  in  a  rock-hewn  aqueduct,  and  near  it  Lieut.  Conder,  R.E.,  discovered  the  only 
masonry  belonging  to  the  original  wall  which  is  visible  above  the  present  surface  of  the 
Haram  esh  Sherif.  This  fragment  is  of  great  interest,  as  it  has  projecting  pilasters  and 
is  similar  in  character  to  the  masonry  of  the  Haram  wall,  which  encloses  the  last  resting- 
place  of  the  patriarchs  at  Hebron;  it  also  shows  that  the  outer  walls  of  the  Temple  cloisters 
were  built  with  pilasters,  as  represented  in  the  restorations  of  Mr.  Fergusson  and  the  Count 
de  VogUe.  The  north-west  angle  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  has  been  cut  out  of  the  rock 
so  as  to  leave  escarpments  from  three  to  twenty-three  feet  high  facing  inwards  on  the 
north  and  west.  There  is  here,  in  fact,  a  mass  of  rock,  about  one  hundred  feet  thick, 
which  is  separated  from  the  more  northern  hill  of  Bezetha  by  a  ditch  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  feet  wide,  and  from  twenty-six  to  thirty-three  feet  deep.  Upon  the  rock  stands 
a  Turkish  barrack,  the  successor,  perhaps,  of  the  Tower  of  Antonia,  which  Herod  built  to 
"  secure  and  guard  "  the  Temple.  The  tower,  or  castle,  was  of  great  extent,  and  played 
an  important  part  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus.  It  was  on  a  rock  fifty  cubits 
high,  which  was  covered  from  its  foot  with  smooth  stones,  like  the  lower  part  of  the  Tower 
of  David,  so  that  "  any  one  who  would  either  try  to  get  up  or  to  go  down  it  might  not 
be  able  to  hold  his  feet  upon  it."  There  were  towers  at  each  corner  of  the  castle;  that 
at  the  south-east  was  seventy  cubits  high,  that  it  might  overlook  the  Temple ;  and  that  at 


JERUSALEM. 


43 


the  south-west  had  passages  to  the  Temple  cloisters,  by  which  the  Temple  guard  went  to 
its   post,  for,   as  Josephus 
adds,  "  the  Temple  was  a 
fortress  that  guarded  the  city, 
as  was  the  Tower  of  Antonia 
a  guard  to  the  Temple,  and 
in  that  tower  were  the  guards 
of  those  three."    At  the  pre- 
sent day  a  pile  of  masonry 
in  the  street  which  runs  west- 
ward along  the  north  end  of 
the  Haram  esh  Sherif  from 
St,  Stephen's  Gate  is  known 
as  the  "  Tower  of  Antonia  " 
(see   page   30).      This  so- 
called  tower  appears  to  be 
part  of  an   old  mosque  or 
church ;  it  has  attached  to  it  a  small  court,  in 
which  several  Moslem  celebrities  are  buried  ; 
and  the  place  is  known  to  the  native  popu- 
lation of  Jerusalem  as  the  mosque  and  ceme- 
tery of  those  who  fought  against  the  Infidel, 
or,  as  we  might  call  them.  Knights  of  the 
Crescent.    It  was  near  this  place  that  the 
distinguished   French  savant,   M.  Ganneau 
was  fortunate  enough  to  find  one  of  the  tablets 
of  Herod's  Temple,  which,  as  Josephus  tells  us, 
forbade  strangers  to  enter  the  sacred  enclosure. 
The  tablet  bears  an  inscription  in  Greek  to 
the  following  effect :  "  No  stranger  is  to  enter 
within  the  balustrade  round  the  Temple  and 
enclosure.     Whoever  is  caught  will  be  re- 
sponsible to  himself  for  his  death,  which  will 
ensue."    The  inscription  throws  light  on  the 
events  described  in   Acts  xxi.   26    et  seq., 
during  which  Paul  nearly  lost  his  life.  The 
Jews  of  Asia  supposed  that  Paul  had  brought 
Trophimus,  an   Ephesian,  into  the  Temple, 
and  thus  polluted  the  Holy  Place.    A  tumult 


THE  WAILING-PLACE  OF  THE  JEWS. 
The  west  wall  of  the  Haram,  or  Sacred  Enclosure.    On  Fridays, 
after  four  o'clock,  Jews  and  Jewesses  assemble  here  for  prayer, 
and  bewail  the  downfall  of  Jerusalem. 


44 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


arose,  and  the  people  were  about  to  put  Paul  to  death,  when  the  commandant  of  the  fortress 
Antonia,  gathering  a  number  of  soldiers  together,  ran  down  and  rescued  him.  The  minaret 
which  stands  on  the  rock  at  the  north-west  angle  was  built  about  1207  a.d.  (see  page  52). 
Amongst  the  stones  used  in  its  construction  is  a  marble  capital  with  mutilated  figures  repre- 
senting the  "  Presentation  of  Christ  in  the  Temple,"  which  was  probably  taken  from  the  Chapel 


A  JEWISH  COTTON-CLEANER. 
Separating  seeds  from  cotton  by  the  ancient  process  of  bowing  it. 


of  the  Presentation,  situated  durina:  the  Latin  Kinadom  in  the  "  Dome  of  the  Rock,"  then 
called  the  "  Templum  Domini."  On  the  left  Simeon  receives  the  infant  Jesus  from  the 
hands  of  the  Virgin  ;  on  the  rigrht  is  a  fissure  with  a  nimbus  round  its  head,  which  seems 
to  be  intended  for  Joseph. 

The  ditch  alluded  to  as  separating  the  rock  on  which  the  Turkish  barrack  stands  from 


JERUSALEM. 


45 


the  hill  on  the  north  has  been 
and  it  can  be  seen  in  two  vaulted 
passages  or  souterrains  which 
lie  beneath  the  street.  At  the 
end  of  one  of  the  souterrains 
there  is  a  rock-hewn  aqueduct, 
from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high, 
which  brought  water  from  the 
north.  It  is  an  old  and  important 
work,  but  no  one  has  yet  been 
able  to  find  the  source  from  which 
it  derived  its  supply  of  water. 
The  eastern  portion  of  the  north 
side  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  is 
protected  by  the  Birket  Israil, 
known  traditionally  as  the  Pool 
of  Bethesda.  The  reservoir  is 
situated  in  a  valley  which  takes 
its  rise  to  the  north  of  the  city 
wall,  and  runs  out  into  the 
Kedron  valley  about  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-three  feet  south 
of  the  north-east  angle  of  the 
Haram  enclosure.  The  valley 
is  now  little  more  than  a  shallow 
depression,  but  excavations  have 
shown  that  in  the  lower  por- 
tions of  its  course  it  assumes 
the  character  of  a  deep  ravine, 
and  that  its  bed  is  no  less  than 
one  hundred  and  forty  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  Temple 
platform.  The  Birket  Israil  is 
three  hundred  and  sixty  feet 
long,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  feet  wide,  and  eighty  feet 
deep,  but  its  great  size  can 
hardly  be  appreciated  on  account 
of  the  rubbish,  which  rises  to  a 


traced  for  some  distance  alone  the  line  of  the  Via  Dole 


STREET  OF  THE  GATE  OF  THE  CHAIN. 
A  narrow  picturesque  street,  with  projecting  lattice-work  windows  of  many  kinds. 


46 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


height  of  thirty-five  feet  above  the  floor.  At  the  west  end  are  two  parallel  passages  running 
westwards  along  the  Haram  wall,  whence  a  flight  of  irregular  steps  leads  down  to  the  pool  ; 
the  east  end  is  closed  by  a  dam  forty-five  feet  thick,  which  is  also  part  of  the  city  walls. 
No  trace  has  yet  been  found  of  the  system  of  conduits  by  which  it  was  supplied  with  water. 
North  of  the  Birket  Israil  (see  page  66)  is  the  street  leading  to  St.  Stephen's  Gate,  and  imme- 
diately beyond  it  the  Church  of  St.  Anne,  which  was  given  by  the  Sultan  Abdul  Mejid  to  the 
French  Emperor  on  the  termination  of  the  Crimean  war.  The  church  is  built  over  the  Grotto 
of  St.  Anne,  an  excavation  in  the  rock  remarkably  like  an  old  cistern,  which  is  claimed  by 
tradition  as  the  home  of  St.  Anne  and  the  birthplace  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  building  has 
been  thoroughly  repaired  by  the  French,  who  have  made  no  material  alterations  in  the 
original  edifice  left  by  the  Crusaders,  and  who  have  retained  traces  of  the  Moslem  occupation 
in  an  Arabic  inscription  over  the  doorway  and  the  mihrab,  or  prayer  niche,  which  was  cut  in 
the  south  wall.  The  St.  Stephen's  Gate  is  called  by  the  native  Christians  Bab  Sitti  Mariam 
(Gate  of  Our  Lady  Mary),  from  the  circumstance  that  the  road  which  passes  through  it  leads 
to  the  tomb  of  the  Virgin  in  the  valley  below.  It  dates  from  the  restoration  of  the  city 
walls  by  Sultan  Suleiman.    Above  the  doorway  are  two  lions  sculptured  in  stone  in  low  relief. 

The  first  point  of  interest  in  the  east  wall  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  is  the  Golden  Gate, 
an  entrance  to  the  sacred  enclosure  which  has  long  been  closed,  in  consequence  of  a  Moslem 
tradition  that  when  the  Christians  capture  Jerusalem  they  will  make  their  triumphal  entry  by 
it.  South  of  the  Golden  Gate  is  a  postern,  now  closed  with  masonry,  which  is  called  by  the 
Arab  historian,  Mejr  ed  Din,  the  Gate  of  Borak.  Beside  it  there  are  traces  of  an  old  fountain, 
once  probably  fed  from  the  water  in  the  cisterns  of  the  Haram. 

From  St.  Stephen's  Gate  to  the  postern,  and  even  beyond  it,  the  ground  at  the  foot 
of  the  east  wall  is  occupied  by  the  Mohammedan  cemetery,  and  closely  covered  with  tombs — 
plain  rectangular  masses  of  masonry  with  rounded  tops  ;  they  are  generally  badly  built  and 
soon  fall  to  pieces,  leaving  nothing  but  a  heap  of  ruins.  Here  and  there  may  be  seen  a  head- 
stone with  a  roughly  hewn  turban,  and  in  some  cases  the  tombs  are  protected  from  the 
weather  by  a  square  building  pierced  with  arches  and  surmounted  by  a  dome  (see  pages  67 
and  69).  Moslem  funerals  pass  into  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  by  the  "  Gate  of  the  Tribes,"  and 
enter  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  by  the  "  Gate  of  Paradise."  After  a  few  short  prayers  the 
procession  passes  out  of  the  mosque  by  the  gate  that  opens  in  the  direction  of  Mecca,  and 
leaves  the  Haram  by  the  way  it  entered  ;  it  then  proceeds  to  the  grave.  No  coffin  is  used  ; 
the  body  is  simply  wrapped  in  a  sheet  and  carried  to  the  grave  in  a  wooden  box  by  six  men. 
A  man  bearing  a  palm  branch  heads  the  procession,  and  the  mourners  follow  the  body  in  a 
confused  crov/d  without  any  order  or  arrangement.  At  the  grave  a  few  verses  of  the 
Koran  are  recited,  and  if  the  deceased  is  rich  alms  are  distributed  to  the  poor. 

The  imposing  mass  of  masonry  at  the  south-east  angle  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif, 
which  overhangs  the  Kedron  valley,  has  always  excited  the  admiration  of  travellers.  Its 
foundation-stones  bear  the  Phoenician  letters  which  at  the  time  of  their  discovery  attracted 


JERUSALEM. 


47 


so  much  attention.  The  letters  are  either  cut  into  or  painted  on  the  stones.  The  incised 
characters  are  cut  to  a  depth  of  three-eighths  of  an  inch  ;  the  painted  characters,  some  of 
which  are  five  inches  high,  were  probably  put  on  with  a  brush.  They  are  in  red  paint, 
apparently  vermilion,  and  easily  rubbed  off  with  a  wetted  finger.  These  g  rap  hit  i  were 
examined  by  the  late  Mr.  Emanuel  Deutsch,  who  says  :  "  The  signs  cut  or  painted  were  on 
the  stones  when  they  were  first  laid  in  their  present  places.  They  do  not  represent  any 
inscription.  They  are  Phoenician,  I  consider  them  to  be  partly  letters,  partly  numerals,  and 
partly  special  quarry  signs  or  masons'  marks.  Some  of  them  were  recognisable  at  once  as 
well-known  Phoenician  characters;  others,  hitherto  unknown  in  Phoenician  epigraphy,  I  had  the 
rare  satisfaction  of  being  able  to  identify  on  absolutely  undoubted  Phoenician  structures  in 
Syria."  The  pottery  obtained  during  the  excavations  consisted  of  a  small  jar  found  in  a  hole 
cut  out  of  the  rock,  "  standing  upright,  as  though  it  had  been  purposely  placed  there,"  and 
many  fragments  of  lamps  and  other  utensils.  Dr.  Birch,  the  keeper  of  oriental  antiquities  at 
the  British  Museum,  states  that  it  is  just  possible  that  this  jar,  which  resembles  Egyptian  ware 
in  shape,  might  be  as  old  as  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  B.C.  Mr.  Greville  Chester,  the  well- 
known  antiquary,  observes,  in  the  "  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,"  that  the  vase  "  is  of  pale  red 
ware,  and  of  a  common  Grseco- Phoenician  type."  Amongst  the  fragments  were  found  several 
broken  lamps  of  red  or  brownish  ware,  with  one,  two,  or  three  lips,  which  "  seem  adapted  for 
the  burning  of  fat  rather  than  oil."  They  are  similar  in  design  to  lamps  that  have  been  found 
in  Cyprus  and  Malta ;  and  Mr.  A.  W.  Franks,  of  the  British  Museum,  considers  them  "  to  be 
of  late  date — not  earlier  than  the  second  century  before  the  Christian  era."  The  south-east 
angle  is  by  some  writers  believed  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  portions  of  the  wall  and  the  work  of 
Solomon  ;  whilst  others,  from  the  peculiar  character  of  the  masonry,  believe  it  to  have  been 
built  by  Herod  Agrippa,  or  to  be  even  as  late  as  the  reign  of  Justinian. 

The  most  remarkable  features  of  the  south  wall  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  are  the  large 
stones  known  as  the  "  Great  Course,"  and  the  Single,  Double,  and  Triple  Gates.  The  "Great 
Course  "  is  a  course  of  drafted  stones  about  six  feet  high,  which  extends  continuously  for  a 
distance  of  seventy  feet  west  of  the  south-east  angle,  and  can  be  traced  thence  at  intervals  to 
the  Triple  Gate.  The  stones  have  sometimes  been  supposed  to  be  of  great  age,  but  in  our 
opinion  they  are  more  probably  connected  with  the  great  works  which  were  undertaken  at 
Jerusalem  by  order  of  Justinian.  Procopius,  in  describing  the  Mary  Church  of  Justinian,  says 
that  the  fourth  part  of  the  ground  required  for  the  building  was  wanting  towards  the  south 
and  east ;  the  builders,  therefore,  laid  out  their  foundations  at  the  extremity  of  the  sloping 
ground,  and  raised  up  a  wall  until  they  reached  the  pitch  of  the  hill.  Above  this  they  con- 
structed a  series  of  arched  vaults,  by  means  of  which  they  raised  the  ground  to  the  level  of 
the  rest  of  the  enclosure.  Procopius  also  speaks  of  the  immense  size  of  the  stones  and  of 
the  skill  with  which  they  were  dressed.  This  describes  exactly  what  is  found  at  the  south- 
east angle  :  solid  masonry  to  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  hill  under  the  Triple  Gate,  then  vaults 
to  raise  the  level  to  that  of  the  area,  and  the  "  Great  Course  "  to  mark  the  end  of  the  solid 


48 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


FOUNTAIN  OK  THE  GATli  OK  TH1-:  CHAIN  — DAB  KS  SILSILEH. 
Supplied  with  water  from  Solomon's  Pools. 


JERUSALEM. 


49 


masonry.  The  Single  Gate,  the  nearest  of  the  three  gateways  to  the  south-east  angle,  is  a 
closed  entrance  of  comparatively  modern  date,  which  at  one  time  led  directly  into  the  vaults 
within  the  Haram,  known  as  "  Solomon's  Stables."  Beneath  the  gate  Captain  Warren  found 
the  "  Great  Passage,"  a  narrow  way  from  twelve  to  eighteen  feet  high  and  sixty-nine  feet  long, 

which  lies  beneath  one  of  the  aisles  of  Solomon's  Stables. 
Next  in  order  is  the  Triple  Gate,  which  consists  of  three 
arched  portals  each  thirteen  feet  wide.    The  openings  are 
closed  with  small  masonry,  but  they  formerly  gave  access 
to  three  parallel  passages,  which,  after  running  some  dis- 
tance   beneath    the   surface    of  the 
Haram,   are   blocked    with  rubbish. 
The    Double  Gate  consists  of  two 
entrances,  now  closed,  which  formerly 
opened  into  a  vestibule,  whence  there 
was  an  ascent  to  the  Haram  area  by  a 


THE  SUMMER  PULPIT,  PLATFORM  OF  THE  DOME  OF  THE  ROCK. 
Showing  a  portion  of  the  arcaded  approach  from  the  south.    The  pigeons  in  the  foreground  are  characteristic  of  the  place. 

vaulted  passage  at  right  angles  with  the  line  of  the  wall.  The  gates  are  each  eighteen  feet 
wide,  and  they  are  covered  with  large  lintels,  which  have  been  cracked  by  the  pressure  of  the 
masonry  above,  and  are  now  supported  by  columns.  Immediately  under  the  lintels  are  two 
ornamented  arches,  which  form  no  part  of  the  wall,  but  are  simply  fastened  on  to  it  with  metal 


50 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


cramps.  The  style  of  ornament  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Golden  Gate.  The  Double  Gate  is 
undoubtedly  a  relic  of  the  Temple  of  Herod.  Close  to  the  eastern  lintel  is  a  dedicatory 
inscription  to  Hadrian,  built  into  the  wall  upside  down,  which  some  writers  suppose  belonged 
to  the  statue  erected  to  that  emperor  in  the  Temple  area. 

Allusion  has  frequently  been  made  to  Captain  Warren's  excavations  for  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund.  Those  excavations  are,  for  their  extent,  for  the  boldness  with  which 
they  were  conceived,  and  for  the  skill  with  which  they  were  carried  out,  without  a  parallel  in 
the  history  of  archaeological  exploration.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  here,  in  the 
explorer's  own  words,  a  description  of  one  of  the  shafts  by  means  of  which  he  penetrated 
through  the  rubbish  which  conceals  the  foundations  of  the  Temple  platform. 

"On  Friday  (October  nth,  1867),  having  arrived  at  a  depth  of  seventy-nine  feet,  the 
men  were  breaking  up  a  stone  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft.  Suddenly  the  ground  gave  way ; 
down  went  the  stone  and  the  hammer,  the  men  barely  saving  themselves.  They  at  once 
rushed  up,  and  told  the  sergeant  they  had  found  the  bottomless  pit.  I  went  down  to  the  spot 
and  examined  it,  and,  in  order  that  you  may  have  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  our  work,  I  will 
give  you  a  description  of  our  descent. 

"  The  shaft  mouth  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  Sanctuary  wall,  near  the  south-west  angle, 
among  the  prickly  pears.  Beside  it,  to  the  east,  lying  against  the  Sanctuary  wall,  is  a  large 
mass  of  rubbish  that  has  been  brought  up  ;  while  over  the  mouth  itself  is  a  triangular  gin 
with  iron  wheel  attached,  with  guy  for  running  up  the  excavated  soil.  Looking  down  the 
shaft  one  sees  that  it  is  lined  for  the  first  twenty  feet  with  frames  four  feet  six  inches  in  the 
clear.  Farther  down,  the  Sanctuary  wall  and  soil  cut  through  is  seen,  and  a  man  standing 
at  what  appears  to  be  the  bottom.  An  order  is  given  to  this  man,  who  repeats  it,  and  then, 
faintly,  is  heard  a  sepulchral  voice  answering  as  it  were  from  another  world.  Reaching  down 
to  the  man  who  is  visible  is  a  thirty-four  feet  rope  ladder,  and,  on  descending  by  it,  one  finds 
he  is  standing  on  a  ledge  which  the  ladder  does  not  touch  by  four  feet.  This  ledge  is  the  top 
of  a  wall  running  north  and  south  and  abutting  on  the  Sanctuary  wall  ;  its  east  face  just  cuts 
the  centre  of  the  shaft,  which  has  to  be  canted  off  about  two  feet  towards  the  east,  just  where 
some  large  loose  stones  jut  out  in  the  most  disagreeable  manner.  Here  five  more  frames 
have  been  fixed  to  keep  these  stones  steady.  On  peering  down  from  this  ledge  one  sees  the 
Sanctuary  wall  with  its  projecting  courses  until  they  are  lost  in  the  darkness  below,  observing 
also,  at  the  same  time,  that  two  sides  of  the  shaft  are  cut  through  the  soil  and  are  self- 
supporting.  Now  to  descend  this  second  drop  the  ladder  is  again  required  ;  accordingly, 
having  told  the  man  at  the  bottom  to  get  under  cover,  it  is  lowered  to  the  ledge,  from  whence 
it  is  found  that  it  does  not  reach  to  the  bottom  by  several  feet.  It  is  therefore  lowered  the 
required  distance,  and  one  has  to  reach  it  by  climbing  down  hand  over  hand  for  about  twelve 
feet.  On  passing  along,  one  notes  the  marvellous  joints  of  the  Sanctuary  wall  stones,  and 
also,  probably,  gets  a  few  blows  on  skull  and  knuckles  from  falling  pebbles.  Just  on  reaching 
the  bottom  one  recollects  there  is  still  a  pit  of  unknown  depth  to  be  explored,  and  cautiously 


JERUSALEM. 


51 


straddles  across  it.  Then  can  be  seen  that  one  course  in  the  Sanctuary  wall,  near  the  bottom, 
is  quite  smooth  all  over,  the  stone  being  finely  dressed,  all  other  courses  being  only  well 
dressed  round  the  drafts.  One  also  sees  two  stout  boards  lying  against  the  Sanctuary  wall, 
under  which  the  men  retire  whenever  an  accidental  shower  of  stones  renders  their  position 
dangerous.  One  is  now  at  a  depth  of  seventy-nine  feet  from  the  surface,  and  from  here  we 
commence  the  exploring  of  the  '  bottomless  pit'  After  dropping  a  rope  down  we  found  that 
it  was  only  six  feet  deep,  though  it  looked  black  enough  for  anything.  Climbing  down  we 
found  ourselves  in  a  passage  running  south  from  the  Sanctuary,  four  feet  high  by  two  feet 
wide,  and  we  explored  this  passage.  It  is  of  rough  rubble  masonry,  with  flat  stones  at  top 
similar  to  the  aqueduct  from  Triple  Gate,  but  not  so  carefully  constructed.  The  floor  and 
sides  are  very  muddy,  as  if  water  gathers  there  during  the  rainy  season. 

"  It  struck  me  that  it  might  be  an  overflow  aqueduct  from  the  Temple,  and  that  there 
might  be  a  water-conduit  underneath.  We  scrambled  along  for  a  long  way  on  our  feet,  our 
skulls  and  spines  coming  in  unhappy  contact  with  the  passage  roof.  After  about  two  hundred 
feet  we  found  that  the  mud  reached  higher  up,  and  we  had  to  crawl  by  means  of  elbows  and 
toes.  Gradually  the  passage  got  more  and  more  filled  up,  and  our  bodies  could  barely 
squeeze  through,  and  there  did  not  appear  sufficient  air  to  support  us  for  any  length  of  time, 
so  that,  having  advanced  four  hundred  feet,  we  commenced  a  difficult  retrograde  movement, 
having  to  get  back  half-way  before  we  could  turn  our  heads  round.  .  .  .  This  passage  is 
on  a  level  with  the  foundations  of  the  Haram  wall,  eighty-five  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  .  .  .  We  have  sunk  a  shaft  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  to  the  south  of  the 
Sanctuary  wall,  and  have  had  the  good  fortune,  at  a  depth  of  sixty  feet,  to  drop  directly  upon 
our  passage.  .  .  .  The  passage  was  cleared  out  for  a  total  distance  of  six  hundred  feet 
from  the  Sanctuary  wall  and  was  then  abandoned.  .  .  .  This  aqueduct  appears  to  have 
existed  before  the  south-west  angle  of  the  Sanctuary,  and  to  have  been  cut  across  and 
rendered  useless  when  the  wall  was  built." 

The  Haram  esh  Sherif  has  a  general  elevation  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  nineteen 
feet  above  the  Mediterranean,  and  its  surface  is  almost  level,  if  we  except  the  raised  platform 
in  the  centre,  a  deep  hollow  in  front  of  the  Golden  Gate,  and  a  slight  rise  towards  the  north- 
west corner.  It  has  been  formed  by  cutting  the  rock  away  in  some  places,  by  building 
supporting  vaults  in  others,  and  by  filling  in  hollows  with  large  stones  and  rubbish.  The 
dimensions  are — north  side,  one  thousand  and  forty-two  feet ;  east  side,  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  thirty  feet ;  south  side,  nine  hundred  and  twenty-two  feet ;  and  west  side,  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  one  feet.  The  enclosure  contains  thirty-five  acres,  and  is  nearly 
one  mile  in  circuit. 

In  the  north-west  corner  the  natural  rock  is  either  visible  or  but  slightly  covered  with 
earth  over  some  extent  of  ground,  and  the  surface  has  been  artificially  formed  by  cutting  down 
the  rock  under  the  Turkish  barrack,  and  then  entirely  removing  the  upper  strata  as  far  as  the 
north-west  angle  of  the  raised  platform,  where  the  rock  is  scarped,  and  rises  nearly  to  the 


52 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


level  of  the  pavement  on  which  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  stands.  Between  the  corner  and  the 
platform  the  ridge  of  Moriah  is  in  one  place  very  narrow.  Here  the  rock  gives  place  to  turf, 
and  there  are  indications  which  point  to  the  existence  of  a  ditch  cut  in  the  solid  rock. 

The  north-east  corner  has  been  formed  by  filling  up  the  deep  ravine,  which  has  already 


NORTH-WEST  CORNKK  t)F  THE  HARAM  ESH  SHERIF. 
Showing  the  highest  minaret  of  the  Sanctuary,  and  the  old  Serai,  which  is  now  used  as  a  state  prison. 


been  alluded  to  as  that  in  which  the  Birket  Israil  (Pool  of  Bethesda)  is  situated.  The  south- 
west corner,  as  far  as  we  know  at  present,  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  passage  from  Barclay's 
Gate,  alluded  to  above,  filled  up  in  a  solid  manner  with  large  stones  and  earth.    On  the  south 


JERUSALEM.  53 
side  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  is  the  Mosque  el  Aksa,  and  in  front  of  it  is  a  level  space 


ORATORIES  ON  THE  WEST  SIDE  OF  THE  HARAM  ESH  SHERIF. 


shaded  by  fine  trees.  In  the  centre  of  the  Haram  is  the  raised  platform  on  which  stands  the 
Kubbet  es  Sakhra  (Dome  of  the  Rock),  erected  over  the  sacred  rock  from  which  Mohammed 


54 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


is  said  to  have  ascended  into  heaven.  The  platform  has  four  sides,  but  none  of  its  sides  are 
equal,  nor  are  any  of  its  angles  right  angles.  Its  general  level  is  about  sixteen  feet  above 
that  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  and  the  top  of  the  "Sakhra"  is  nearly  five  feet  higher,  or 
two  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty  feet  above  the  Mediterranean.  The  platform  is  paved 
with  flat  slabs  of  stone.  On  the  west  and  south-west  it  is  partly  supported  by  vaults.  In 
other  directions  the  rock  rises  up  to,  or  nearly  up  to,  the  level  of  the  pavement.  The  most 
interesting  feature  is  the  "  Sakhra,"  or  Rock,  to  which  the  beautiful  building  gives  an  air  of 
mystery  and  a  prominence  that  it  would  not  possess  if  the  pavement  were  removed  and  the 
ground  were  restored  to  its  original  form. 

The  platform  is  approached  by  several  flights  of  steps,  at  the  top  of  which  are  screens 
supported  by  light  columns,  called  "  mawazin,"  or  balances.    (See  pages  49,  53,  and  63.) 

The  Kubbet  es  Sakhra  (Dome  of  the  Rock)  is  an  octagonal  building,  each  side  of 
which  measures  sixty-six  feet.  Internally  it  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  in  diameter. 
The  great  rock,  the  "  Sakhra,"  which  is  in  the  centre,  is  encircled  by  four  massive  piers  and 
twelve  columns ;  three  columns  being  placed  between  each  pair  of  piers.  They  are  united 
by  arches  and  support  the  beautifully  proportioned  dome,  which  is  sixty-six  feet  in  diameter 
at  its  base.  An  octagonal  screen,  composed  of  eight  piers  and  sixteen  columns,  divides  the 
remaining  space  into  two  encircling  aisles  ;  the  outer  aisle  being  thirteen  and  the  inner  one 
thirty  feet  wide.  (See  page  59.)  There  is  a  door  in  each  of  the  four  faces  fronting  the 
cardinal  points — on  the  north,  Bab  el  Jenne  (Gate  of  Paradise)  ;  Bab  el  Gharby  (West  Gate)  ; 
Bab  el  Kible  (South  Gate) ;  and  the  Bab  en  Neby  DaCid  (Gate  of  the  Prophet  David). 
Each  of  the  doorways  had  in  front  of  it  an  open  porch  of  columns,  but,  with  the  exception 
of'^that  before  the  Bab  el  Kible,  they  have  been  closed  in  and  cased  with  marble.  The 
chambers  thus  formed  are  made  use  of  by  the  attendants  of  the  mosque.  The  doors  are 
covered  with  plates  of  bronze,  and  have  very  fine  old  locks. 

The  building  consists  of  a  basement  sixteen  feet  high,  pierced  only  by  the  four  doors ; 
then  a  story  of  plain  masonry,  twenty  feet  in  height,  with  seven  round  arches  on  each  side, 
thirty-eight  of  which  are  pierced  for  windows,  and  the  remaining  eighteen  are  blind  panels. 
The  basement  is  cased  with  slabs  of  various  coloured  marble,  which  are  fastened  to  the 
masonry  by  metal  clamps  run  in  with  lead. 

The  old  round-headed  arches  are  hidden  by  pointed  arches  probably  dating  from  the 
sixteenth  century.  In  course  of  time  several  of  the  pointed  arches  fell  out,  and  the  western 
faces  became  so  ruinous  that  in  1873  the  Turkish  Government  found  it  necessary  to  carry 
out  extensive  repairs.  It  was  then  that  Mons.  Ganneau  discovered  "  that  the  parapet  wall 
above  the  principal  range  of  windows,  which  had  always  been  believed  to  be  solid,  was  in 
reality  composed  of  a  range  of  thirteen  small  arches  on  each  face,  each  arch  being  adorned 
with  a  small  dwarf  pillar  on  each  side.  It  may  be  assumed  as  certain  that  this  arcade  formed 
the  front  of  a  covered  gallery,  not  only  because  no  other  view  seems  consistent  with  common 
sense,  but  because  the  description  of  it  by  John  of  Wlirzburg,  made  in  the  time  of  the 


JERUSALEM. 


55 


Crusades,  will  bear  no  other  interpretation."  Some  of  these  arcades  were  at  one  time  formed 
into  semicircular  niches  with  semi-domical  heads,  and  the  upper  parts  at  least  were  richly 
ornamented  with  mosaics  in  coloured  and  gilt  glass.  The  presence  of  mosaics  outside  the 
Kubbet  es  Sakhra  is  a  fact  of  much  interest  in  the  history  of  the  building,  because  it  has 
been  often  doubted,  in  spite  of  the  formal  affirmation  of  the  ancient  descriptions.  From 
John  of  Wurzburg  to  Mejr  ed  Din,  all  writers  agree  in  saying  that  the  Dome  of  the  Rock 
was  adorned  with  mosaics  inside  and  outside.  The  last  trace  of  this  system  of  decoration 
disappeared  from  the  outside  when  the  faience  was  applied  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
Mons.  Ganneau  considers  the  mosaics  to  be  "  the  work  of  the  Arabs,  perhaps  that  of 
Saladin."  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Fergusson,  from  whose  valuable  works  our  description 
of  the  mosque  is  chiefly  compiled,  believes  the  mosaics  to  be  late  Roman  or  Byzantine,  and 
thinks  it  not  improbable  that  they  may  be  part  of  the  original  design  of  the  building,  assuming 
it  to  have  been  erected  in  the  fourth  century.  The  external  walls  above  the  basement  are 
entirely  covered  with  tiles,  which  produce  a  very  fine  effect.  Verses  of  the  Koran,  beautifully 
written  in  interwoven  character,  in  blue  and  white,  run  round  the  parapet  wall,  and  beneath 
are  elaborately  executed  designs  in  various  colours.  The  tiles  are  nine  and  a  half  inches 
square  and  firmly  embedded  in  mortar.  Three  periods  of  workmanship  can  be  traced  :  the 
tiles  of  the  earliest  period  are  far  superior  to  the  others  in  elegance  of  design  and  quality  of 
workmanship  ;  those  of  the  second  are  also  good  ;  but  the  tiles  of  the  third  period  are  in  bad 
taste  and  of  inferior  quality.    They  have  been  chiefly  used  in  recent  repairs. 

The  aisle  screen  is  perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  building,  and  it  is  that  upon 
which  the  architectural  arguments  with  reference  to  the  age  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  are 
chiefly  founded.  The  bases  of  the  columns  are  cased  with  slabs  of  marble,  but  they  were 
uncovered  during  the  repairs,  and  it  was  then  found  that,  though  classical  in  form,  they  difl"ered 
in  outline  and  height.  This,  however,  is  not  an  unusual  occurrence  in  early  Christian 
churches,  for  the  builders  made  free  use  of  columns,  capitals,  and  bases  taken  from  pagan 
temples.  The  shafts  of  the  columns  do  not  rest  immediately  on  their  bases,  but  on  sheets  of 
lead  from  three-quarters  of  an  inch  to  one  and  a  half  inches  thick.  The  capitals  are  of  the 
Corinthian  order,  and  they  illustrate  "  one  of  the  very  first  attempts  to  convert  the  hollow  bowl 
of  the  Corinthian  capital  into  a  fuller  form,  to  bear  an  arch  or  a  longer  entablature."  The 
entablature,  although  of  wood,  would  have  looked  crushingly  heavy  if  maintaining  its  classical 
depth,  across  pillars  spaced  eight  diameters  apart.  The  architrave  is  consequently  omitted 
and  represented  only  by  a  square  block  of  stone  over  each  pillar,  supporting  the  frieze 
and  cornice,  of  fairly  classical  design  ;  and  over  this  comes  a  bold  discharging  arch,  which 
again  supports  a  cornice,  originally  apparently  classical,  but  now  hidden  in  more  modern 
details  of  stone.  The  stone  blocks  are  cased  with  marble  slabs,  which  seem  at  one 
time  to  have  been  covered  with  bronze  plates.  The  wood  entablature  is  painted  in  bright 
colours,  to  bring  out  the  details  of  the  beautiful  frieze  and  cornice,  and  its  soflit  and  part 
of  its  side  are  covered  with  bronze  repoussi  work  of  a  very  elaborate  and  beautiful  class. 


56 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


The  piers  of  the  screen  are 
cased  with  marble,  and  the 
capitals  are  gilded.  The 
arches  are  ornamented  with 
fanciful  designs  in  mosaic. 
Above  the  mosaics  runs  the 
remarkable  inscription,  writ- 
ten in  letters  of  gold,  which 
records  the  erection  of  the 
Dome  of  the  Rock  by  El 
Mamiin  in  the  year  72  of  the 
Hegira.  As,  however,  El 
Mamiin,  who  was  a  son 
of  Harun  al  Rashid,  died 
in  218  A.H.,  M.  de  Vogtie 
and  Professor  Palmer  be- 
lieve that  the  name  of  Abd 
el  Melik,  who,  according  to 
their  opinion,  was  the  ori- 
ginal founder,  was  purposely 
erased,  and  that  of  the  Imam 
el  Mamun  fraudulently  sub- 
stituted ;  the  short-sighted 
forger,  however,  omitted  to 
erase  the  date.  The  in- 
scription consists  chiefly  of 
verses  from  the  Koran,  The 
following  are  some  of  the 
most  interesting  passages  of 
the  inscription  :  "In  the 
name  of  God,  the  Merciful, 
the  Compassionate !  The 
servant  of  God,  Abdallah, 
the  Imam  el  Mamun,  Com- 
mander of  the  Faithful,  built 
this  dome  in  the  year  72 
(a.d.  691),  May  God  accept 
it  at  his  hands,  and  be  con- 
tent with  him.    Amen  !    There  is  no  god  but  God  alone  ;    He  hath  no  partner.    Say  He  is 


OLD  CYPRESS  TREES  IN  THE  HARAM  ESH  SHERIF. 
On  the  western  side. 


JERUSALEM.  ^7 

the  one  God,  the  Eternal ;  He  neither  begetteth  nor  is  begotten,  and  there  is  no  one  Hke 
Him.  Mohammed  is  the  Apostle  of  God  ;  pray  God  for  him.  There  is  no  god  but  God 
alone;  to  Him  be  praise,  who  taketh  not  unto  Himself  a  son,  and  to  whom  none  can  be  a 


THE  GOLDEN  GATE  OF  THE  HARAM  ESH  SHERIF. 
From  the  west.    The  Mount  of  Olives  in  the  distance. 


partner  in  His  kingdom,  and  whose  patron  no  lower  creature  can  be;  magnify  ye  Him. 
Oh  !  ye  who  have  received  the  Scriptures,  exceed  not  the  bounds  in  your  religion,  and  speak 
not  aught  but  truth  concerning  God.  God  is  but  One.  There  is  no  god  but  Him,  the 
Mighty,  the  Wise." 


9 


58 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


When  the  Crusaders  reached  Jerusalem  it  is  said  that  they  found  the  Dome  of  the 
Rock  covered  with  inscriptions  in  the  Cufic  character,  which  stated  that  the  building  had 
been  erected  by  Omar.  These  have  disappeared,  as  well  as  the  Latin  inscriptions  with  which 
the  mosque  was  adorned,  inside  and  outside,  during  the  Christian  occupation  of  the  Holy 
City.  One  of  these  inscriptions,  which  commenced  "  Domus  mea  domus  orationis  vocabitur, 
dicit  Dominus,"  occupied,  if  our  interpretation  of  the  description  of  Theodoricus  is  correct, 
the  place  of  the  great  Cuhc  inscription. 

The  aisles  are  covered  by  slightly  sloping  roofs  with  panelled  wooden  ceilings,  and  paved 
with  mosaics  formed  of  old  material,  amongst  which  there  are  many  fragments  of  sculptured 
slabs.  The  bases  and  columns  of  the  inner  circle  are  similar  to  those  of  the  octagonal  screen ; 
the  capitals  differ  in  size,  in  outline,  and  in  details,  and  in  their  state  of  preservation  ;  but  in 
most  cases  the  volutes  and  acanthus  leaves  have  been  much  defaced,  the  projecting  edges 
having  been  knocked  off  The  columns  and  piers  are  connected  by  a  fine  wrought-iron  screen, 
which  is  said  to  be  of  French  workmanship  of  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  and 
believed  to  be  a  relic  of  the  Crusaders  (see  page  59).  A  fragment  of  the  choir  of  the  old 
Christian  church  (Templum  Domini)  also  remains.  The  discharging  arches,  which  spring 
directly  from  the  capitals,  are  covered  with  a  thin  veneering  of  marble,  black  and  white  slabs 
arranged  alternately.  Above  the  arches  is  the  drum  upon  which  the  dome  rests,  divided 
into  what  may  be  called  the  triforium  and  clerestory  by  a  slight  cornice.  The  former 
is  ornamented  by  a  band  of  scrollwork  in  glass  mosaics,  which  in  many  of  its  features 
is  late  Roman.  The  clerestory  is  pierced  by  sixteen  windows,  between  each  of  which 
the  scroll  of  the  triforium  is  repeated  with  some  slight  variations.  Mons.  Ganneau 
ascertained  that  on  many  of  the  vertical  walls  of  the  interior  "  the  coloured  and  gilded  little 
cubes  of  glass  which  produce  together  so  marvellous  an  effect  are  not  sunk  in  the  walls 
so  that  their  faces  are  vertical,  but  are  placed  obliquely,  so  that  the  faces  make  an  angle  with 
the  walls.  This  ingenious  inclination  is  evidently  intended  to  present  their  many-coloured 
facets  at  the  most  effective  angle  of  incidence  to  the  eye  below."  This  system  of  decoration 
produces  a  dazzling  and  magical  effect,  which  must  be  seen  to  be  perfectly  realised. 
According  to  Mr.  Fergusson,  the  history  of  the  mosaic  decoration  is  as  follows  :  "  When  the 
building  was  first  erected  by  Constantine  he  adorned  it,  internally  at  least,  with  mosaics, 
portions  of  which  still  remain.  When  the  Saracens  took  possession  of  the  Dome  of  the 
Rock  they  destroyed  those  parts  of  these  mosaics  representing  emblems  offensive  to  Moslem 
ideas,  and  replaced  them  by  those  others  which  we  now  see.  When  the  Christians  regained 
possession  of  the  building  in  1099  they  obliterated  the  Saracenic  inscriptions  and  replaced 
them  by  the  Latin  ones,  copied  and  published  by  John  of  Wlirzburg  and  Theodoricus. 
Lastly,  when  the  Moslems  recovered  the  Kubbet  es  Sakhra,  Saladin,  or  some  one  about 
his  time,  obliterated  the  Christian  inscriptions,  remodelled  entirely  the  mosaics  of  the  side 
aisles  at  least,  and  inserted  the  Cufic  inscriptions,  which  ascribe  the  erection  of  the  building 
to  Abd  el  Melik  or  El  Mamun." 


6o 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


The  dome  of  the  building  is  of  wood,  covered  externally  with  lead,  and  internally 
with  stucco,  richly  gilt  and  painted  ;  its  height  is  about  ninety-six  feet.  The  windows  of 
the  external  wall  and  clerestory  are  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  their  tracery,  no  less 
than  for  the  brilliancy  of  their  colouring  and  for  the  admirable  way  in  which  the  different 
colours  are  blended,  producing  perfect  harmony  in  the  whole.  To  be  seen  to  advantage 
they  should  have  the  full  blaze  of  a  Syrian  sun  streaming  through  them.  One  window 
near  the  western  door  is  of  special  beauty.  The  light  is  admitted  through  three  mediums. 
First,  there  is  on  the  outside  a  thick  perforated    framework  of  cement    covered  with 


THE  CAVE   UNDER  THE  GREAT  ROCK  ON  MOUNT  MORIAH. 


faience ;  this  allows  the  light  to  pass  to  a  second  window  of  stone  with  white  glass,  and 
thence  to  the  inner  window,  which  gives  the  design  and  colouring.  In  this  inner  window 
the  small  pieces  of  coloured  glass  are  inserted  obliquely,  and  not  vertically,  so  as  to 
overhang  and  meet  the  eye  of  the  spectator  at  right  angles.  Nothing  can  equal  the 
exquisite  taste  with  which  the  pieces  of  glass  are  arranged  or  the  charming  brightness  of 
the  colouring ;  and  the  combined  effect  is  certainly  not  surpassed  by  that  of  any  windows 
in  Europe.  Some  of  the  windows  bear  the  name  of  Suleiman,  and  the  date  935  (1528  a.d.), 
the  same  period  to  which  the  finest  specimens  of  the  porcelain  tiles  are  assigned. 


JERUSALEM. 


6i 


The  "Sakhra"  or  Rock,  which  occupies  the  centre  of  the  building,  is  overhung  by  a 
canopy  and  surrounded  by  a  rude  wooden  railing.    It  rises  four  feet  nine  and  a  half  inches 


THE  FACADE  OF  THE  MOSQUE  EL  AKSA,  JERUSALEM, 
An  old  olive-tree  in  the  foreground. 


above  the  marble  pavement  of  the  mosque  at  its  highest  point,  and  one  foot  at  its 
lowest ;  from  north  to  south  it  measures  fifty-six  feet,  and  from  east  to  west  forty-two  feet. 
Beneath  the  rock  there  is  a  small  cave  (see  page  60),  the  entrance  to  which  is  at  the 


62 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


south-east  corner  of  the  rock ;  a  flight  of  steps  passes  under  an  archway  and  leads  down 
to  the  chamber.  The  average  height  of  the  cave  is  six  feet.  In  the  roof  is  a  circular 
opening  which  pierces  the  rock ;  the  floor  is  paved  with  marble,  and  the  sides  are 
covered  with  plaster  and  whitewash.  The  floor,  when  stamped  upon,  gives  out  a  hollow 
sound,  indicating  the  presence  of  a  lower  chamber,  possibly  a  well,  the  "  Well  of  Spirits," 
The  sides,  too,  when  tapped  give  forth  a  hollow  sound,  which  the  Moslem  guardian 
brings  forward  as  a  proof  that  the  Sakhra  is,  in  accordance  with  the  legend,  suspended 
in  the  air. 

Many  curious  traditions  are  attached  to  the  Dome  of  the  Rock.  Immediately  within 
the  "Gate  of  Paradise"  is  the  "Sepulchre  of  Solomon."  A  small  piece  of  marble,  called 
the  "  Flagstone  of  Paradise,"  is  let  into  the  pavement  above  the  tomb.  Into  this  marble 
Mohammed  drove  nails,  which  at  certain  intervals  drop  through  to  the  tomb  below;  when 
they  have  all  disappeared  the  prophet  will  come  to  judge  the  faithful.  Three  nails  now 
remain  perfect,  and  one  has  sunk  some  depth.  The  place  has  a  weird  interest  to  the 
Moslem  pilgrim,  who  approaches  it  with  cautious  step,  mindful  of  the  grave  advice  of  the 
attendant  sheikh,  "  Take  heed  to  thy  footsteps,  O  pilgrim  !  lest  thou  shake  a  nail  through 
and  hasten  the  day  of  judgment."  Near  the  west  side  of  the  rock  is  preserved  the  shield 
of  Hamzeh,  the  uncle  of  Omar.  The  shield  is  of  very  beautiful  workmanship,  and  is,  perhaps, 
of  Persian  manufacture.  Its  face  is  highly  ornamented  with  figures  of  birds  and  animals 
in  low  relief,  the  peacock  being  most  prominent;  but  it  has  been  flattened  in  and  turned 
towards  the  wall  to  conceal  the  forbidden  figures  from  devout  eyes.  It  is,  however,  round 
the  mysterious  rock  that  the  legends  gather  most  thickly.  On  the  Sakhra,  if  we  are  to 
believe  certain  traditions,  Melchizedek  ofl"ered  sacrifice  ;  there  Abraham  was  about  to  offer 
Isaac ;  there  Jacob  saw  the  ladder  leading  up  into  heaven  ;  and  there,  too,  was  the 
threshing-floor  of  Araunah  the  Jebusite,  by  which  the  angel  stood  when  he  stretched  out 
his  hand  upon  Jerusalem  to  destroy  it ;  the  site  of  the  "  altar  of  the  burnt-offering  for 
Israel,"  upon  which  David  sacrificed ;  the  altar  of  the  Temples  of  Solomon,  Zerubbabel, 
and  Herod.  Here  Mohammed  prayed,  declaring  that  one  prayer  by  the  sacred  rock  was 
better  than  a  thousand  elsewhere,  and  hence  he  passed  heavenward  on  his  mysterious 
steed,  Al  Borak.  At  the  south-west  corner  of  the  rock  may  still  be  seen  the  "  Footprint 
of  Mohammed,"  covered  by  a  rude  shrine,  which  contains,  carefully  screened  from  vulgar 
eyes,  an  object  of  the  deepest  veneration,  a  single  hair  of  the  prophet's  head.  Here,  too, 
are  the  banners  of  Omar,  which  were  carried  before  him  when  he  captured  Jerusalem  ; 
they  are  now  covered  with  cases  which  do  not  seem  to  have  been  removed  for  years. 

When  the  Crusaders  converted  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  into  their  Templum  Domini 
they  formed  a  choir  in  the  centre,  which  was  probably  co-extensive  with  the  inner  circle 
of  piers  and  columns,  and  placed  the  high  altar  on  the  Sakhra,  which  was  covered  with 
marble  slabs  and  decorated  with  sculptured  figures  in  marble.  The  principal  entrance  was 
at  that  time  by  the  western  door,  on  passing  through  which  the  visitor  had  in  front  of 


JERUSALEM. 


64 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


him  the  choir,  and  on  the  left  of  the  choir  the  Chapels  of  the  "  Presentation  of  Christ " 
and  of  "Jacob's  Dream."    Over  the  one  was  written  the  couplet — 

"  Hie  fuit  oblatus  rex  regum  virgine  natus, 
Qua  propter  sanctus  locus  est  hie  jure  vocatus;" 

and  over  the  other — 

"  Hie  Jacob  scalam  vidit,  construxit  et  aram, 
Hinc  locus  ornatur,  quo  sanctus  jure  vocatur." 

The  cave  was  at  the  same  time  converted  into  a  chapel,  ornamented  with  paintings  and 
inscriptions  commemorative  of  the  appearance  of  the  angel  to  Zacharias,  and  of  the  woman 
taken  in  adultery  who  was  brought  before  Jesus.  On  the  day  of  the  Purification  a  solemn 
procession  passed  through  the  city  from  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  to  the  Templum 
Domini  (Dome  of  the  Rock)  ;  and  on  the  occasion  of  the  coronation  of  the  Frank  kings 
of  Jerusalem  a  similar  procession  took  place.  According  to  the  prescribed  ceremonial,  the 
king  was  crowned  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre ;  he  then  proceeded  to  the 
Templum  Domini  to  offer  his  crown  on  the  altar  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Presentation  of 
Christ,  and  afterwards  passed  to  the  Templum  Salomonis  (Mosque  el  Aksa),  where  the 
Knights  Templars  had  their  residence.  Whilst  the  repairs  were  being  executed  in  1873, 
several  fragments  of  figures  and  other  memorials  were  found  of  the  occupation  of  the  Dome 
of  the  Rock  by  the  Crusaders. 

What  is  the  origin  of  this  beautiful  building  ?  To  this  question  no  -decisive  answer 
has  yet  been  made.  Mr.  Fergusson,  arguing  chiefly  on  architectural  grounds — and  his 
arguments  have  never  been  answered  by  any  one  competent  to  deal  with  this  side  of  the 
problem — maintains  that  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  is  in  all  essential  particulars  the  identical 
Anastasis,  or  Church  of  the  Resurrection,  built  by  the  Emperor  Constantine  over  the 
cave  which  he  believed  to  be  the  Sepulchre  of  Christ.  He  is  also  absolutely  convinced 
that  the  "new  sepulchre"  was  near  this  spot,  probably  in  this  very  rock  and  under  the 
very  dome.  Mr.  Fergusson  places  the  Basilica  of  Constantine  on  the  north  side  of  the 
platform  of  the  mosque ;  and  he  considers  a  souterrain  discovered  by  Captain  Warren  to  be 
part  of  one  of  the  double  aisles  of  that  building,  which  Eusebius  describes  as  partly 
above  ground  and  partly  beneath  it.  The  conclusions  arrived  at  by  a  committee  of 
architects  and  engineers,  who  considered  the  question  at  Munich,  seem  to  have  been  that 
the  Dome  of  the  Rock  was  not  an  old  Arab  building,  and  that  it  could  not  have  been 
built  by  Constantine  or  later  than,  the  reign  of  Justinian.  The  view  of  the  committee 
was  that  the  evidence  laid  before  them  tended  to  show  that  the  building  could  only 
belong  to  the  first  third  of  the  sixth  century.  The  Arab  historians  attribute  the  erection 
of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  to  Abd  el  Melik,  and  this  is  the  view  generally  taken  of  its 
origin.  The  essentially  Byzantine  character  of  the  building  is  explained  by  the  supposition 
that  Abd  el  Melik  employed  a  Greek  architect,  the  Arabs  at  that  time  having  no  style 
of  their  own.     It  is  somewhat  surprising,  however,  to  find  that,  though  the  Arabs  came 


JERUSALEM. 


65 


in  contact  with  Byzantine  civilisation  in  other  places,  there  is  no  known  instance  of  a 
similar  style  of  building  having  been  erected  by  them. 

The  platform  on  which  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  stands  is  paved  with  limestone  slabs, 
and  carries  several  minor  buildings,  of  which  the  "  Tribunal  of  the  Prophet  David,"  or 
"  Dome  of  the  Chain,"  in  front  of  the  east  door  of  the  mosque,  is  the  most  remarkable. 
This  beautiful  little  building  is  an  open  pavilion  of  eleven  sides,  with  six  internal  columns, 
which  support  an  hexagonal  drum  and  a  domed  roof.  It  has  a  "  mihrab  "  on  the  south  face. 
The  bases,  shafts,  and  capitals  differ  greatly  from  each  other,  and  have  been  taken  from 
an  older  building.  The  last  are  of  a  late  Byzantine  style,  and  have  none  of  those  classical 
features  which  are  so  characteristic  of  the  capitals  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock.  The 
interior  of  the  small  dome  is  overlaid  with  faience,  which  produces  a  very  pretty  effect. 
According  to  tradition  David's  judgment-seat  stood  beneath  the  dome,  and  it  was  here 
that  Mohammed  caught  a  first  glimpse  of  the  houris  of  Paradise.  In  the  twelfth  century 
the  building  was  looked  upon  as  the  tomb  of  St.  James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord,  whose 
body  is  said  to  have  been  removed  to  this  spot  from  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  where 
it  was  first  buried.  The  remaining  buildings  are  the  "  Dome  of  the  Spirits,"  beneath 
which  the  natural  rock  may  be  seen;  the  "Dome  of  El  Khydr"  (Elias,  or  St.  George); 
the  "  Dome  of  the  Prophet  Mohammed,"  and  other  structures  of  less  importance.  Near 
the  flight  of  steps  which  leads  down  from  the  platform  on  the  south  is  the  "  Summer 
Pulpit,"  a  beautiful  structure  in  marble,  which  affords  a  fine  example  of  Arab  art  in  the 
sixteenth  century.    The  pulpit  was  built  by  Berhan  ed  Din  Kadi,  798  a.h.  (see  page  49). 

Passing  from  the  "  Dome  of  the  Rock "  to  the  Mosque  el  Aksa,  at  the  south  end  of 
the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  the  eye  is  at  once  struck  by  the  difference  in  style,  and  by  the 
inferior  character  of  the  material  used  in  the  construction  of  the  latter  (see  page  61). 
The  porch  is  Gothic,  and  appears  to  be  the  work  of  the  Crusaders.  The  mosque  is 
about  one  hundred  and  ninety  feet  wide  and  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  and  is 
divided  into  seven  aisles.  The  building  lies  north  and  south,  and  the  centre  of  the  transept 
at  the  south  end  is  covered  by  a  dome.  The  columns  of  the  centre  aisles  are  heavy 
and  stunted,  and  have  a  circumference  of  nine  feet  three  inches  to  a  height  of  sixteen 
feet  five  inches;  the  remaining  columns  are  better  proportioned.  The  capitals  of  the 
columns  are  of  four  different  kinds  :  those  in  the  centre  aisle  are  heavy  and  badly  designed ; 
those  under  the  dome  are  of  the  Corinthian  order,  of  white  marble,  and  similar  to  those 
in  the  Dome  of  the  Rock;  those  in  the  east  aisle  are  of  a  heavy  basket-shaped  design; 
and  those  east  and  west  of  the  dome  are  basket-shaped,  but  small  and  well  proportioned. 
These  last  are  made  of  plaster.  The  columns  and  piers  are  connected  by  a  rude  architrave, 
which  consists  of  beams  of  roughly-squared  timber  enclosed  in  a  wooden  casing  which 
is  poorly  ornamented.  Some  of  the  windows  are  very  good,  one  especially,  of  a  delicate 
blue  colour,  which  is  situated  in  the  tambour  of  the  dome,  and  only  seen  immediately  on 
entering  the  mosque.     There  is  another  fine  window  in  the  Mosque  of  Zechariah,  but 

10 


66 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


the  colours  are  not  so  effectively  blended  as  in  the  windows  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock. 


A 


A  great  portion  of  the  mosque  is  covered  with  whitewash,  but 
the  drum  of  the  dome  and  the  walls  immediately  beneath  it  are 
richly  decorated  with  mosaics  and  marble.  The  mosaics  are  of  the 
same  age  as,  but  of  different  design  from,  those  in  the  Dome  of 
the  Rock.     Some  wretched  paintings  by  an  Italian  artist  were 
introduced  when  the  mosque  was  repaired  at  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century.     Near  the  south  end  of  the  building  is 
the  Minbar  Omar,  a  magnificent  pulpit  made  at  Damascus  by 
Niireddin,  and  brought  to  Jerusalem  by  Saladin  after 
he  captured  the  city.     It  is  entirely  of  wood,  with 
exquisitely  carved  arabesques   and    raised  panels, 
inlaid  with  ivory  and  mother-of-pearl.    Close  to  the 


BIRKET  ISRAIL— THE  POOL  OF  BETHESDA. 


JERUSALEM. 


67 


pulpit,  on  the  west,  are  the  "  Mihrab  of  Moses "  and  the  "  Footprint  of  Jesus ; "  and 
not  far  from  them  is  a  place  where  the  faithful  test  their  prospects  of  seeing  the  houris 
in  Paradise  by  attempting  to  pass  between  two  columns  which  stand  close  together. 
One  of  the  columns  is  chipped,  so  that  the  ordeal  is  not  a  very  difficult  one.  On  the 
east  side  of  the  Aksa  are  the  "  Mosque  of  the  Women,"  the  "  Mosque  of  the  Forty " 
(Martyrs),  the  "Mihrab  of  John  and  Zechariah,"  and  the  "Gate  of  Elias."  A  black  slab 
of  stone  let  into  the  north  wall  of  the  mosque,  beneath  the  porch,  is  connected  with 
another  proof  of  fitness  for  Paradise.    Those  who  wish  to  try  their  chance  of  finally  reaching 


MOUNT  SCOPUS  FROM  ST.  STEPHEN'S  GATE. 
Mohammedan  tombs  in  the  foreground. 


the  desired  goal  place  their  backs  against  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  facade,  shut  their  eyes, 
and  walk  with  outstretched  hands  towards  the  slab ;  if  they  are  fortunate  enough  to  plant 
their  hands  in  the  centre  they  will  be  saved,  if  not  they  are  doomed.  Within  the  mosque 
is  the  entrance  to  the  cistern  known  as  the  "  Well  of  the  Leaf,"  of  which  the  following 
curious  story  is  related.  Mohammed  said  on  a  certain  occasion,  "  One  of  my  followers  will 
enter  Paradise  walking,  while  yet  alive."  During  the  caliphate  of  Omar  some  Moslems 
came  to  Jerusalem  to  pray.  "  One  of  them  went  to  this  well  to  draw  water,  but  while 
doing  so  his  bucket  fell  to  the  bottom.    He  went  down  to  get  it,  and  to  his  great  surprise 


68 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


found  there  a  door  opening  into  delicious  gardens.  Having  walked  through  them  for  a 
time  he  plucked  a  leaf  from  one  of  the  trees,  placed  it  behind  his  ear,  and  hastened  back 
to  tell  his  companions.  The  matter  was  reported  to  the  Governor,  who  sent  his  servants 
with  the  stranger  to  see  these  remarkable  subterranean  gardens ;  but  no  door  could  be  found. 
Omar  was  written  to,  and  he  at  once  replied  that  the  prophecy  of  Mohammed  was  now 
literally  fulfilled,  because  a  living  man  had  walked  into  Paradise.  To  test  the  matter  and 
settle  all  doubts  he  desired  them  to  examine  the  leaf,  and  if  it  still  remained  green  and 
fresh  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  it  came  from  Paradise.  The  leaf  had,  of  course,  preserved 
its  verdure." 

At  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Mosque  el  Aksa  an  open  doorway  leads  to  the 
"Mosque  of  Omar,"  a  long  low  building  with  pointed  arches.  In  its  south  wall  is  the 
Mihrab  of  Omar,  which,  according  to  the  existing  tradition,  marks  the  place  where  Omar 
first  prayed  after  he  entered  Jerusalem.  On  either  side  of  the  mihrab  is  a  twisted 
column  with  a  rich  grotesquely  carved  capital.  The  capitals  were  exposed  to  view  a  few 
years  ago,  but  have  since  been  covered  with  plaster.  They  evidently  belonged  to  some 
building  or  altar  erected  by  the  Crusaders.  Much  confusion  has  arisen  from  the  transfer 
of  the  name  of  this  mosque  to  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  for  which  there  is  no  authority 
either  in  history  or  local  tradition. 

A  flight  of  steps  outside  the  principal  entrance  to  the  Mosque  el  Aksa  leads  down 
to  the  "  Double  Passage,"  which  runs  beneath  the  building  to  the  "  Double  Gate,"  in 
the  south  wall  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  The  Double  Gateway  leads  into  a  vestibule 
measuring  thirty  feet  by  forty  feet,  in  the  centre  of  which  stands  a  fine  monolithic  column 
with  a  Corinthian  capital  of  beautiful  design.  It  consists  of  alternate  leaves  of  the 
acanthus  and  water-lily,  without  any  volutes  or  any  of  the  accompaniments  of  the  later 
Corinthian  order.  From  its  summit  spring  four  flat  arches,  dividing  the  roof  into  four 
compartments,  each  of  which  is  roofed  by  a  low  flat  dome.  The  sides  of  the  vestibule 
were  originally  built  with  stones  ornamented  by  a  marginal  draft,  but  at  some  period  of 
reconstruction  the  masonry  was  cut  away  to  give  relief  to  the  pilasters  opposite  the 
monolith,  and  the  drafts  disappeared.  The  two  entrances  of  the  Double  Gate  are 
separated  by  a  pier,  upon  which  the  ends  of  the  great  lintels  which  cover  the  openings 
rest.    Above  the  lintels  there  are  relieving  arches,  and  over  these  a  cornice. 

The  Double  Passage  is  reached  by  a  flight  of  steps  at  the  end  of  the  western  vault. 
It  is  covered  by  well-built  semicircular  arches,  and  its  walls,  as  far  as  the  third  pier,  are  of 
ancient  masonry ;  beyond  that  point  the  masonry  is  of  a  mixed  character.  The  ascent  to 
the  Haram  esh  Sherif  is  now  easy,  but  it  was  at  one  time  much  more  rapid,  and  the 
conduit  connecting  the  "Well  of  the  Leaf"  with  the  aqueduct  from  Solomon's  Pools  was 
cut  through  when  the  passage  was  reconstructed  in  its  present  form.  The  vestibule  is 
undoubtedly  a  portion  of  Herod's  Temple,  and  the  great  monolithic  column  in  its  centre 
corresponds  in  position  with  one  of  the  pillars  in  the  Royal  Cloisters,  which  ran  along 


JERUSALEM. 


69 


the  south  wall  of  the  Temple.  The  direction  of  the  passage,  too,  is  of  importance,  as 
there  seem  some  reasons  for  believing  that  the  passage  from  the  Huldah  Gate  led  directly 
to  the  Altar  of  the  Temple. 

At  the  south-east  angle  of 
the  Haram  esh  Sherif  a  flight 
of  steps  gives  access  to  a  small 
mosque,  in  which  is  shown  the 
"  Cradle,  or  Couch,  of  our  Lord 
Jesus."  The  cradle  is  an  old 
Roman  niche  for  the  reception 
of  a  statue,  placed  on  its  back 
and  covered  by  a  kind  of  shrine. 
A  small  window  on  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  staircase 
looks  into  the  extensive  vaults 
which  support  the  south-eastern 
portion  of  the  Haram  enclosure. 
These  vaults  are  known  to 
Franks  as  "  Solomon's  Stables," 
and  to  Moslems  as  "  the  Old 
Mosque." 

In  this  south-east  corner, 
according  to  Captain  Warren 
and  Mr.  Fergusson,  Solomon's 
Palace  was  situated  and,  on  the 
surface  above  the  latter  places 
the  group  of  buildings,  churches, 
monastery,  and  hospital,  which 
Justinian  erected  on  the  Temple 
mount.  Some  years  ago  Dr. 
Barclay,  the  American  mis- 
sionary, found  a  portion  of  the 
ground  on  which  Justinian's 
buildings  are  supposed  to  have 
stood  paved  with  tessercs,  but 
all  traces  of  the  pavement  have 
now  disappeared. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  is  the  "Golden  Gate,"  called  by  Moslems  the 
"Gate  of  Conversion  or  Penitence,"  and  sometimes  the  "Gate  of  the  Eternal  "(see  page  57). 


IN  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  CEMETERY,  JERUSALEM. 


70 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


The  floor  of  the  Golden  Gate  is  much  below  the  level  of  the  Haram,  and  the  door  which 
gives  access  to  the  interior  is  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  slope  of  rubbish.  The  roof  is  of 
comparatively  late  construction,  but  the  body  of  the  work  is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
the  finer  parts  of  the  sculpture  having  been  protected  by  a  coat  of  plaster,  which  was  at  sortie 
time  put  on  to  conceal  it.  A  quasi-classical  cornice  runs  along  the  wall  on  both  sides  of  the 
interior.  The  style  is  identical  with  that  of  the  decorated  arch  over  the  "  Double  Gate,"  and 
also  with  the  portion  of  an  old  cornice  which  is  built  into  the  facade  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre.  In  the  capital  of  the  pilaster  at  the  north-east  corner  a  variation  is 
produced  by  looping  up  the  acanthus  leaves  with  a  cord.  The  two  columns  in  the  interior 
"are  boldly  and  originally  Byzantine,  according  neither  with  the  corresponding  pilasters  in 
the  wall,  nor  with  anything  else  of  that  age."  The  arches  spring  directly  from  the  architrave 
blocks  and  support  flat  domes  with  pendentives.  Externally  the  entire  entablature, 
architrave,  frieze,  and  cornice  are  bent,  as  at  Spalatro,  and  arching  from  pillar  to  pillar — a 
peculiarity  which  is  said  not  to  be  found  in  any  building  after  the  fourth  century.  The  two 
free-standing  columns  in  the  interior  are  said  by  Moslem  tradition  to  have  been  brought  on 
her  shoulders  by  the  Queen  of  Sheba  as  a  present  to  King  Solomon.  Through  the  gateway 
itself,  at  the  last  day,  the  good  will  pass  on  their  way  to  the  houris  of  Paradise,  after  having 
safely  crossed  the  Kedron  on  that  bridge  which  is  sharper  than  the  sharpest  sword  ;  and 
through  the  same  portal,  according  to  a  very  generally  received  belief,  the  Christian  prince 
who  retakes  Jerusalem  will  make  his  public  entry.  The  belief  that  the  Christians  will 
recapture  the  city,  and  that  their  own  tenure  of  the  country  is  drawing  to  a  close,  is 
widely  spread  amongst  the  Moslems  in  Palestine.  Mr.  Fergusson  believes  the  Golden  Gate 
to  be  the  "  festal  portal  which  Eusebius  describes  Constantine  as  erecting  in  front  of 
his  basilica."  Count  de  Vogiie,  on  the  other  hand,  considers  it  to  be  a  building  of  the 
fifth  or  sixth  century,  erected  by  the  Christians,  as  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple — 
the  Nicanor  of  the  Talmud — to  commemorate  the  miracle  therein  performed  by  St.  Peter 
and  St.  John  in  curing  the  lame  man,  as  narrated  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles. 

North  of  the  Golden  Gate  is  a  small  modern  building  called  "  Solomon's  Chair,"  which 
contains  a  sort  of  cenotaph  covered  with  carpets  and  cloths.  The  Moslems  attach  peculiar 
sanctity  to  the  place,  and  visit  it  every  year  at  the  Feast  of  Bairam.  Tradition  relates  that 
Solomon  died  here,  and  supported  himself  on  his  stafl"  to  conceal  his  death  from  the  demons. 
In  course  of  time,  however,  the  stafl"  became  worm-eaten  and  the  body  fell,  much  to  the 
delight  of  the  demons,  who  then  for  the  first  time  became  aware  that  they  were  freed  from 
the  king's  authority.  Many  small  buildings  are  scattered  over  the  surface  of  the  Haram  esh 
Sherif  (see  page  53),  One  which  merits  especial  notice  is  that  called  Saladin's  Fountain,  or, 
more  properly,  the  Fountain  of  Kait  Bey,  near  the  "  Cotton  Gate."  According  to  the 
inscription,  this  beautiful  little  building  was  erected  by  Melek  el  Ashraf  Abu  Nasir  Kait  Bey 
in  the  year  849  of  the  Hegira  (a.d.  1445).    The  dome  is  entirely  covered  with  arabesques  in 


KHAN-EZ-ZAIT,  THE  GREAT  BAZAAR  OF  THE  OIL  MERCHANTS. 
From  the  south,  looking  towards  the  street  of  the  Damascus  Gate,  which  is  in  full  sunlight. 


72 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


relief.  The  western  and  northern  sides  of  the  Haram  area  are  lined  with  cloisters,  but  there 
is  nothing  remarkable  in  their  construction  or  appearance. 

The  ceremonies  connected  with  the  Temple  service  required  at  all  times  an  abundant 

supply  of  water,  and  special 
arrangements  had  to  be  made 
for  its  storage.  These  arrange- 
ments consisted  of  a  series  of 
rock-hewn  cisterns  which  were 
supplied  with  water  by  an 
aqueduct  from  Solomon's 
Pools,  near  Bethlehem,  and 
were  connected  with  each 
other  by  a  network  of  conduits. 
There  was  also  an  overflow 
towards  Siloam,  possibly  by 
the  rock-hewn  passages  be- 
neath the  Triple  Gate.  The 
cisterns  are  amongst  the  most 
remarkable  features  of  the 
Haram  esh  Sherif,  They  are 
from  twenty-five  to  fifty  feet 
in  height,  and  vary  consider- 
ably in  capacity.  One,  in  front 
of  El  Aksa,  known  as  the 
"  Great  Sea,"  would  hold  two 
million  gallons  ;  and  the  total 
number  of  gallons  which 
could  be  stored  probably  ex- 
ceeded twelve  millions.  Some 
of  the  cisterns  have  been 
formed  by  making  small  open- 
ings in  the  hard  stratum  of 
limestone  which  forms  the 
natural  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  then  excavating  large 
chambers  in  the  soft  under- 
lying stratum,  the  roof  being 
supported  in  some  places  by 

pillars  of  rock  left  for  the  purpose.    Other  cisterns  are  made  by  forming  an  open  tank,  and 


ROBINSON'S  ARCH,  JERUSALEM. 
Part  of  a  bridge  which  crossed  the  Tyropoeon  Valley,  named  after  its  discoverer,  Dr.  Robinson. 


JERUSALEM. 


73 


then  throwing  a  plain  covering  arch  over  the  excavation.  The  former  are  certainly  the  most 
ancient,  having  apparently  been  made  before  the  arch  came  into  common  use  for  covering 
large  openings ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  no  large  cisterns  of  this  description  are  found 


THE  HILL  OF  EVIL  COUNSEL  FROM  THE  SOUTH 
WALL,  JERUSALEM. 

The  nearer  hill-side  is  the  eastern  slope  of  Ophel ;  a  good  example 
of  terrace  cultivation. 

to  the  north  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock.    The  form  of 
some  of  the  cisterns  is  so  peculiar  that  it  seems  probable 
they  were  originally  made  for  another  purpose.  One 
■       -''  -  ■  has  a  curious  cruciform  shape,  with  a  flight  of  rock-hewn 

steps  leading  down  to  it ;  another  has  a  long  chamber 
raised  nearly  five  feet  above  the  floor-line  ;  and  a  third,  besides  a  raised  chamber  into  which 
there  are  two  entrances,  has  a  small  elevated  platform  with  steps  leading  up  to  it,  as  it  were 
11 


74 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


to  the  altar  of  a  church.  One  of  the  cisterns  north  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  is  identified 
by  Captain  Warren  with  the  passage  which  led  from  the  Gate  Nitsots  to  the  Gate  Tadi  of 
the  Temple,  and  by  Mr.  Fergusson  with  a  passage  connecting  the  Anastasis  with  the  Basilica 
of  Constantine ;  and  another  cistern  is  believed  by  the  former  gentleman  to  be  part  of  the 
passage  from  the  Temple  gate  Mokad. 

The  cisterns  being  covered  in,  they  must  always  have  kept  the  water  cool  and  pleasant  to 
the  taste,  and  there  could  have  been  but  slight  loss  from  evaporation.  The  aqueduct  which 
supplied  the  cisterns  with  water  crosses  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  on  the  viaduct  of  which 
Wilson's  Arch  forms  a  part,  and  enters  the  Haram  at  the  Gate  of  the  Chain.  Hence  the 
principal  branch  runs  to  a  fountain  called  El  Kas  (the  Cup),  nearly  midway  between  the 
Dome  of  the  Rock  and  El  Aksa  (see  vignette),  and  close  to  the  site  assigned  by  Mr.  Fergusson 
to  the  Jewish  altar.  From  El  Kas  smaller  conduits  lead  to  the  cisterns  in  the  southern  half 
of  the  Haram. 

The  description  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  which  has  been  given  above  will,  it  is  hoped, 
enable  the  reader  to  picture  to  himself  the  present  state  of  Mount  Moriah  and  the  character 
of  the  buildings  that  now  occupy  its  surface.  A  few  notes  on  the  Temple  and  the  various 
theories  with  regard  to  its  position  may  now  be  added.  The  altar  of  David  was  erected  on 
the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah  the  Jebusite,  and  the  succeeding  altars  of  the  Jews  were  set  up 
on  the  same  spot  until  the  capture  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans.  If,  then, 
the  site  of  the  altar  of  Herod's  Temple  could  be  ascertained,  the  Temple  questions  would  at 
once  be  solved.  Of  Herod's  Temple  there  are  detailed  descriptions  in  Josephus  and  the 
Talmud,  but  unfortunately  the  question  of  its  position  is  greatly  complicated  by  the  literal 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  that  not  one  stone  should  be  left  upon  another. 

The  Temple  which  Herod  commenced  to  build  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  reign  was, 
according  to  Josephus,  a  square  of  six  hundred  feet.  This  is  distinctly  stated  in  three  separate 
passages:  in  Ant.  xv.  ii,  3  the  enclosure  is  said  to  be  four  stadii  in  circuit,  each  side 
measuring  one  stadium  in  length  ;  in  Ant.  xv.  11,  5  the  Stoa  Basilica  is  described  as  extending 
"  from  the  east  valley  to  that  on  the  west,  for  it  was  impossible  it  should  reach  any  farther," 
and  as  being  one  stadium  long ;  and  again  in  Ant  xx.  9,  7  the  length  of  the  eastern  cloister 
of  the  outer  court  is  given  as  four  hundred  cubits,  that  is  one  stadium,  or  six  hundred  feet. 
If  the  dimensions  had  been  mentioned  once  only  it  would  be  possible  to  suppose  that  an 
error  had  been  made,  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  believe  that  the  same  mistake  could  occur 
in  three  different  places,  or  that  Josephus,  who  knew  very  well  what  a  stadium  was,  should 
declare  the  Stoa  Basilica  to  be  one  stadium  long  when  it  was  one  and  a  half,  as  it  would  have 
been  had  the  cloisters  extended  the  full  length  of  the  south  wall  of  the  Haram.  The  gates 
of  the  Temple  enclosure  were  as  follows  :  on  the  west  there  were  four  gates  ;  the  first  "  led 
to  the  King's  palace  and  went  to  a  passage  over  the  intermediate  valley,"  a  description  which 
agrees  well  with  the  gate  at  the  end  of  Wilson's  Arch,  from  which  a  street  now  runs  in  almost 
a  direct  line  to  the  site  occupied  by  Herod's  Palace,  over  the  old  Tyropoeon  viaduct.  Two 


JERUSALEM.  "  75 

other  gates  led  to  the  suburbs  of  the  city ;  one  of  them  is  certainly  that  known  now  as 
"  Barclay's  Gate,"  and  the  other  is  probably  "  Warren's  Gate,"  north  of  Wilson's  Arch  which 


may  have  led  down  from 
the   cloisters  which  con- 
nected the  Castle  of  An- 
tonia  with    the  Temple. 
The  last  gate  on  the  west  side  "  led 
to  the  other  city  where  the  road  de- 
scended down  into  the  valley  by  a 
great  number  of  steps  and  thence  up 
again  by  the  ascent,  for  the  city  lay  over 
against   the  Temple  in    the  manner   of  a 
theatre."    This  corresponds  with  all  that  is 
known  of  the  structural  arrangement  of  the 
approach  to  the  Stoa  Basilica  over  "  Robin- 
son's Arch."     On  the   north    side  of  the 

enclosure  there  was  one  gate  called  in  the  Talmud  "  Tadi "  (obscurity)  "  which  served  for  no 
(ordinary)  purpose ;  "  and  on  the  east  also  one  gate,  on  which  was  portrayed  the  city  Shushan. 


THE  SOUTH  WALL  OF  THE  HARAM  ESH  SHERIF. 
The  Dome  of  the  Mosque  El  Aksa  and  the  Mount  of  Olives. 


76 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


"  Through  it  one  could  see  the  high-priest  who  burned  the  heifer  and  all  his  assistants  going 
out  to  the  Mount  of  Olives."  The  south  side  had  "gates  in  its  middle" — the  Huldah  Gate, 
that  served  for  going  in  and  out — which  there  is  little  difficulty  in  identifying  with  the 
"  Double  Gate  "  beneath  the  Mosque  El  Aksa. 

The  walls  of  the  Temple  enclosure  were  surmounted  by  cloisters  of  great  magnificence. 
On  the  north,  west,  and  east  the  cloisters  were  double,  with  monolithic  columns  of  white 
marble  and  roofs  of  curiously  carved  cedar.  On  the  south  were  the  royal  cloisters,  Stoa 
Basilica,  which  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  columns  with  Corinthian  capitals, 
arranged  in  four  rows  so  as  to  form  three  aisles.  The  outer  row  of  columns  was  attached  to 
the  wall ;  the  remaining  columns  stood  free ;  and  the  size  of  each  was  such  "  that  three  men 
might,  with  their  arms  extended,  fathom  it  round  and  join  their  hands  again."  The  centre 
aisle  was  forty-five  feet,  and  each  of  the  side  aisles  thirty  feet  wide,  and  the  "  roofs  were 
adorned  with  deep  sculptures  in  wood,  representing  many  sorts  of  figures.  The  middle  was 
much  higher  than  the  rest,  and  the  wall  of  the  front  was  adorned  with  beams,  resting  upon 
pillars  that  were  interwoven  into  it,  and  that  front  was  all  of  polished  stone ;  insomuch  that  its 
fineness  to  such  as  had  not  seen  it  was  incredible,  and  to  such  as  had  seen  it  was  greatly 
amazing," 

The  cloisters  were  separated  from  the  steps  which  led  up  to  the  Inner  Temple  by  an 
open  space  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  from  twenty-four  to  thirty  cubits  wide,  the  width 
varying  on  each  side  of  the  Temple.  The  cloisters  and  Court  of  the  Gentiles  formed  the 
Outer  Temple,  and  it  was  this  portion  of  the  building  which  our  Lord  characterized  as  a  den 
of  thieves.  Here,  as  in  a  market-place,  were  assembled  those  who  bought  and  sold,  and  here 
stood  the  tables  of  the  money-changers  and  those  who  sold  doves.  Here  the  Jew  who  had 
come  from  some  Gentile  nation  could  change  the  foreign  money  he  had  brought  with  him  into 
Jewish  coin,  which  could  alone  be  paid  into  the  Temple  treasury,  and  here  turtle-doves  and 
young  pigeons  could  be  purchased  for  sacrifice.  The  whole  or  a  portion  of  the  eastern  cloister 
was  called  Solomon's  Porch.  Here  Jesus  was  accustomed  to  walk;  and  it  was  here,  too,  that 
the  people  ran  together  and  surrounded  Peter  and  John  after  they  had  healed  the  lame  man. 

From  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles  a  few  steps  led  up  to  a  flat  terrace  called  the  Chel,  on  the 
outer  edge  of  which  ran  a  stone  screen  or  partition,  three  cubits  high,  of  very  elegant  con- 
struction. Upon  the  screen  "stood  pillars,  at  equal  distances  from  one  another,  declaring  the 
law  of  purity,  some  in  Greek  and  some  in  Roman  letters,  that  no  foreigner  should  go  within 
that  sanctuary  "  on  pain  of  death.  It  was  one  of  the  inscriptions  from  these  pillars  which,  as 
previously  mentioned,  was  found  by  Mons.  Ganneau.  The  Chel  on  the  north,  west,  and 
south  was  ten  cubits  wide  ;  but  on  the  east,  in  front  of  the  Temple,  it  was  of  greater  width, 
and  formed  a  rectangular  space  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  its  own,  called  the  Court  of  the 
Women.  Such  as  were  pure  were  allowed  to  enter  this  court  with  their  wives,  but  the 
women  were  not  allowed  to  pass  beyond. 

From  the  Chel  other  steps  led  up  through  gates  to  the  Inner  Temple,  which  was  square, 


THE  UPPER  POOL  OF  SILOAM. 
Its  walls  are  covered  with  mosses  and  ferns,  especially  the  maidenhair  fern,  with  which  the  picture  is  appropriately  bordered. 


78 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


each  side  probably  about  two  hundred  and  ten  cubits,  and  surrounded  by  a  wall  thirty-seven 
and  a  half  feet  high  on  the  inside.  In  this  wall  there  were  seven  gates  :  on  the  north  the 
Gate  Nitzus,  the  Gate  of  Offering,  and  the  Gate  Mokad  ;  on  the  south  the  Gate  of  Flaming, 
the  Gate  of  Offering,  and  the  Water  Gate,  which  opened  directly  on  the  altar,  and  appears 
to  have  been  in  continuation  of  the  Huldah  Gate;  and  on  the  east  was  the  Beautiful  Gate,  or 
Gate  Nicanor  of  the  Talmud,  In  addition  to  the  above,  three  gates  led  into  the  Court  of  the 
Women,  one  on  the  north,  another  on  the  south,  and  a  third  on  the  east.  On  each  side  of 
the  gateways  there  were  chambers  which  were  used  as  stores,  &c.,  in  connection  with  the 
Temple  service.  Nine  of  these  gates  "  were  on  every  side  covered  over  with  gold  and  silver, 
as  were  the  jambs  of  their  doors  and  their  lintels."  The  Beautiful  Gate  was  of  Corinthian 
brass,  and  ornamented  in  the  most  costly  manner  with  richer  and  thicker  plates  of  gold  than 
the  other  gates.  Within  the  wall  of  the  Inner  Temple  enclosure  were  the  Temple  with  its 
altar,  the  Court  of  the  Men  of  Israel,  and  the  Court  of  the  Priests,  In  the  Temple,  as  recon- 
structed by  Herod,  the  Holy  of  Holies  "  remained  a  cube  of  twenty  cubits,  and  occupied  the 
same  place  as  it  had  from  Solomon's  days.  The  Holy  Place  was  forty  cubits  east  and  west 
by  twenty  cubits  across,  and  thirty  cubits  high,  as  before."  The  porch  was  eleven  cubits  wide 
by  "  apparently  fifty  cubits  north  and  south,  bounded  on  the  east  by  a  wall  five  cubits  thick, 
while  one  six  cubits  in  thickness  separated  it  from  the  Holy  Place,  making  twenty-two  cubits 
in  all,"  The  facade  of  the  Temple  was  one  hundred  cubits  long,  and  in  front  of  it,  at  the  top 
of  a  flight  of  steps  leading  down  to  the  Court  of  the  Priests,  stood  the  Toran,  or  screen 
bearing  the  golden  vine.  The  Temple  was  partly  surrounded  by  thirty-eight  little  chambers, 
"  fifteen  in  the  north,  fifteen  in  the  south,  and  eight  in  the  west.  The  northern  and  southern 
ones  were  (placed)  five  over  five,  and  five  over  them  ;  and  in  the  west  three  over  three  and 
two  over  them.  To  each  were  three  doors  :  one  to  the  little  chamber  to  the  right,  one  to  the 
little  chamber  to  the  left,  and  one  to  the  little  chamber  over  it."  Internally  the  Temple  was 
divided  into  the  Holy  Place — in  which  there  were  "  three  things  that  were  very  wonderful  and 
famous  among  all  mankind,  the  candlestick,  the  table  (of  shewbread),  and  the  altar  of  incense" 
— and  the  Holy  of  Holies,  inaccessible  and  inviolable,  in  which  nothing  was  kept.  The  veil 
of  the  Temple  is  stated  to  have  been  a  "  Babylonian  curtain,  embroidered  with  blue,  and  fine 
linen,  and  scarlet,  and  purple,"  and  of  a  very  fine  texture.  The  colours  were  symbolical  of 
the  universe  :  the  scarlet  and  blue  represented,  by  means  of  their  colours,  fire  and  air ;  the  fine 
linen,  earth,  by  the  flax  of  which  it  was  made ;  and  the  purple,  the  sea,  from  the  circumstance 
that  the  dye  was  obtained  from  salt-water  shell-fish.  Upon  the  curtain  was  also  embroidered 
"  all  that  was  mystical  in  the  heavens,  except  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac  representing  living 
creatures." 

There  is  much  divergence  in  the  views  of  the  writers  who  have  attempted  to  reconstruct 
the  Temple  and  fix  its  position  within  the  Haram  enclosure.  Mr.  Fergusson  supposes  the 
Temple  to  have  occupied  a  square  of  about  six  hundred  feet  at  the  south-west  angle  of  the 
Haram  esh  Sherif,  and  he  is  followed  in  this  by  Messrs.  Thrupp,  Lewin,  and  others. 


8o 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


Robinson's  Arch,  Barclay's  Gate,  and  Wilson's  Arch  are  identified  with  three  of  the  west 
gates  of  the  Temple,  and  the  Double  Gate  with  the  Huldah  Gate  on  the  south.  The  altar 
is  placed  near  the  fountain  El  Kas,  in  front  of  the  Mosque  El  Aksa  (see  vignette).  Captain 
Warren,  R.E.,  considers  that  the  outer  courts  of  the  Temple  of  Herod  are  defined  by  the 
east,  west,  and  south  walls  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  and  by  the  northern  edge  of  the  raised 
platform  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock.  He  places  the  altar  over  the  west  end  of  the  curious 
cruciform  cistern  beneath  the  platform.  Count  de  Vogiie,  Mons.  de  Saulcy,  Sir  Henry  James, 
Dr.  Sepp,  and  others,  believe  that  the  entire  surface  of  the  Haram  enclosure  was  occupied  by 
the  Temple,  its  courts  and  cloisters.  Drs.  Robinson  and  Barclay,  Professors  Porter  and 
Kiepert,  maintain  that  the  Temple  enclosure  was  a  square  of  about  nine  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet,  situated  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  Haram.  Drs.  Tobler  and  Rosen  believe  that 
the  Temple  was  a  square  of  six  hundred  feet,  nearly  coincident  with  the  platform  of  the 
Dome  of  the  Rock.  In  these  last  cases  the  altar  is  placed  on  the  Sakhra.  With  regard  to 
the  position  of  Antonia  all  differ.  The  questions  are  such  as  can  only  be  settled  definitely  by 
excavation  ;  but,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  at  present,  Mr.  Fergusson's  theory  of  the  Temple  site 
most  nearly  accords  with  what  is  known  of  the  features  of  the  ground  and  with  the  written 
description  of  Josephus. 

From  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  we  may  pass  out  of  the  city  by  the  "Gate  of  the  Tribes" 
and  "St.  Stephen's  Gate,"  and  commence  an  examination  of  the  modern  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
which  were  built  by  Sultan  Suleiman  in  the  sixteenth  century.  From  the  gate  of  St.  Stephen 
to  Burj  Laklak,  "  Stork  Tower,"  at  the  north-east  angle,  the  wall  is  partly  protected  by  a  ditch  ~ 
excavated  in  the  rock,  and  the  bases  of  the  flanking  towers,  thirty-two  feet  wide,  are  also 
rock-hewn.  Between  Burj  Laklak  and  the  Damascus  Gate  in  the  north  wall  there  is  a  similar 
ditch  cut  in  the  rock,  and  between  these  two  points  there  is  also  a  closed  gateway  known 
as  the  "  Gate  of  Herod,"  but  more  properly  called  the  "  Gate  of  Splendour,  or  Blooming." 
Near  the  latter  gate  the  ditch  is  of  considerable  depth,  a  feature  which  probably  marks  the 
original  entrance  to  the  quarries  (see  page  93).  From  the  Damascus  Gate  to  the  north-west 
angle  of  the  city,  in  which  "  Goliath's  Castle  "  stands,  the  wall  appears  to  have  been  built  on 
the  foundations  of  an  older  one  ;  material  of  all  kinds  has  been  used  in  its  construction,  and  at 
one  point  the  Moslem  builders  have  made  a  curious  attempt  to  assimilate  the  older  work  to 
their  masonry  by  cutting  false  joints  in  the  stones  of  the  former.  The  wall  was  protected  by 
a  ditch  cut  in  the  rock,  but  it  is  now  almost  filled  with  rubbish.  The  ruin  known  as  "  Goliath's 
Castle  "  is  an  old  tower  of  rubble  masonry,  partly  faced  with  stone  having  a  marginal  draft. 
Within  the  tower  there  is  a  modern  chamber,  and  beneath  it  an  older  one  with  two  piers, 
which  are  supposed  by  some  writers  to  be  Herodian  ;  the}^  are,  however,  more  probably 
Crusading  or  Saracenic.  The  castle  has  been  identified  with  the  octagonal  tower  of  Psephinus, 
mentioned  by  Josephus,  but  it  is  more  probably  the  Tower  of  Tancred,  mentioned  in  the 
histories  of  the  Crusades.  There  seems  evidence,  too,  that  the  castle  is  built  on  the  founda- 
tions of  one  of  the  old  walls  of  the  city.    From  the  north-west  angle  to  the  Jaffa  Gate  the 


JERUSALEM. 


8i 


wall  is  built  on  the  remains  of  an  older  one  ;  there  is  here  a  great  accumulation  of  rubbish,  and 
near  the  gate  the  original  features  of  the  ground  are  entirely  concealed.  South  of  the  Jaffa 
Gate  lies  the  Citadel  (see  page  3),  protected  by  its  ditch  ;  thence  to  the  south-west  angle  and 
onwards  to  the  Zion  Gate  the  wall  has  been  reconstructed  with  old  material ;  and  from  the 
Zion  Gate  to  the  Dung  Gate  in  the  Tyropoeon  Valley,  and  thence  to  the  Double  Gate,  the 
wall  is  of  the  same  character  (see  page  75).  From  the  Double  Gate  to  the  Castle  of  Antonia, 
near  St.  Stephen's  Gate,  the  wall  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  is  also  the  city  wall.  How  far  the 
existing  walls  follow  the  course  of  the  old  walls  of  Jerusalem  is  a  question  that  has  often  been 
asked,  and  it  is  one  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  answer,  owing  to  the  limited  information  we 
possess  respecting  the  actual  nature  of  the  topographical  features  of  the  ground.  There  are, 
however,  certain  points  which  may  now  be  looked  upon  as  certain,  and,  taking  these  as  a 
starting-point,  future  excavations  may  complete  the  good  work  commenced  by  Captain  Warren. 
Josephus  describes  the  walls  as  follows.  The  first  or  old  wall  commenced  on'  the  north  at  the 
Tower  Hippicus,  and  extended  as  far  as  the  Xystus,  and  then,  joining  to  the  council-house, 
ended  at  the  west  cloister  of  the  Temple.  Going  the  other  way,  it  also  commenced  at  Hippicus, 
and,  facing  west,  extended  through  a  place  called  Bethso  to  the  Gate  of  the  Essenes  ;  after 
that  it  faced  south,  making  a  turn  above  the  fountain  of  Siloam,  where  it  also  faced  east  at 
Solomon's  Pool  and  reached  as  far  as  Ophlas,  where  it  was  joined  to  the  eastern  cloister  of 
the  Temple.  In  this  wall  there  were  sixty  towers,  each  twenty  cubits  square.  The  first 
section  of  the  wall,  there  can  be  little  question,  ran  from  the  Jaffa  Gate  to  the  "  Gate  of  the 
Chain  "  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  following  a  line  a  little  to  the  south  of,  and  nearly  parallel 
to,  David's  Street.  The  second  section  of  the  wall  is  more  difficult  to  trace.  There  is,  how- 
ever, in  the  Protestant  cemetery,  on  the  western  slope  of  modern  Zion,  a  remarkable  excavation 
in  the  rock,  which  gives  the  line  of  the  city  wall  thus  far.  The  rock  is  here,  for  a  distance  of 
one  hundred  feet,  scarped,  or  cut  perpendicularly  downwards,  so  as  to  have  a  cliff  twenty-four 
feet  high,  on  the  top  of  which  the  old  wall  ran  ;  and  there  would  appear  to  have  been  a 
succession  of  these  scarps,  with  rock-terraces  in  front  of  them,  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  A 
flight  of  rock-hewn  steps  led  down  from  the  wall  above,  and  the  position  of  three  flanking 
towers  can  be  recognised.  Beyond  the  steps  the  rock  scarp  turns  to  the  east,  and  there  are 
traces  of  either  a  ditch  or  an  entrance  to  the  city.  This  point  appears  to  have  been  the  corner 
of  the  wall  at  or  near  which  was  the  Gate  of  the  Essenes.  The  farther  course  of  the  old  wall 
and  the  place  at  which  it  crossed  the  Tyropoeon  are  unknown.  The  word  Bethso  (Dung 
Place)  gives  a  clue  to  the  route  followed  by  Nehemiah  when  he  went  out  by  night  to  view  the 
walls.  He  apparently  left  Jerusalem  by  the  Jaffa  Gate,  Valley  Gate,  and  rode  to  the  Dung 
Gate,  or  Bethso  ;  he  then  went  on  to  the  Gate  of  the  Fountain  and  to  the  King's  Pool  in  the 
Tyropoeon  Valley,  but  the  deep  narrow  ravine  was  so  encumbered  with  the  rubbish  of  the 
fallen  walls  that  there  was  no  room  for  the  beast  that  was  under  him  to  pass  ;  he  therefore 
went  up  by  the  brook,  the  more  open  Kedron  valley,  and  "  viewed  the  wall,  and  turned  back, 
and  entered  by  the  Gate  of  the  Valley  and  so  returned."  In  the  account  of  the  rebuilding  of 
12 


82 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


the  walls  under  Nehemiah,  the  Dung  Gate  is  said  to  have  been  one  thousand  cubits  from 
the  Valley  Gate,  or  near  the  south-west  angle  of  the  present  city 
wall.    The  second  wall,  we  are  told,  "took  its  bcgmning  from  that 
gate  which  they  called  Gennath,  which  belonged  to  the 
first  wall ;    it   only  encompassed    the  northern 
quarter  of  the  city,  and  reached  as  far  as 
the  tower  Antonia."     No  distinct  trace  of 
this  wall  has  yet  been  found,  but 
the  place  at  which  it  joined  the 
Castle  of  Antonia  seems  to  be 
defined  by  the  rock-hewn  ditch 
at  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of 
Zion,  which  Monsieur  Ganneau 


was  enabled  to  trace  some 
distance  towards  the  west. 
The  position  of  the  gate 
Gennath  is  uncertain.  Cap- 
tain Warren's  excavations 
showed  that  the  old  arch- 
way in  the  city  now  known 
by  that  name  was  a  Roman 
portal  built  on  made  earth 
mixed  with  pottery,  and  that 
the  roadway  beneath  it  was 
tvv^enty-five  feet  above  the 
rock ;  the  situation,  more- 
over, is  not  such  as  would  be  suitable,  having  regard  to  the  natural  features  of  the  ground,  for 


THE  JEWISH  CEMETERY  IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  JEHOSHAPHAT. 
Showing  the  tombs  of  Zachariah,  St.  James,  and  Jehoshaphat.    Bridge  over  the  rocky  bed  of  the 
Kedron  in  the  distance,  and  an  Ashkenazi  Jew  in  the  foreground. 


JERUSALEM. 


83 


a  city  gateway.  It  appears  to  us  that  the  straight  street  known  as  Christian  Street  may 
possibly  mark  the  line  of  the  second  wall,  and  that  the  solid  nature  of  the  substructure  upon 


ABSALOM'S  PILLAR,  VALLEY  OF  JEHOSHAPHAT. 
The  village  of  Siloam  in  the  distance  partly  concealed  by  olive-trees.    Bridge  over  the  bed  of  the  Kedron. 


which  that  street  lies  is  indicated  by  the  Pool  of  Hezekiah  on  the  one  side  and  the  Church  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist  on  the  other.     In  this  case  the  gate  Gennath  must  be  looked  for  near 


84 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


the  junction  of  David  Street  and  Christian  Street,  The  third  or  outer  wall  began  "at  the 
Tower  Hippicus,  whence  it  reached  as  far  as  the  north  quarter  of  the  city  and  the  Tower 
Psephinus,  and  then  was  so  far  extended  till  it  came  over  against  the  monuments  of  Helena, 
which  Helena  was  queen  of  Adiabene,  the  mother  of  Izates  ;  it  then  extended  farther  to  a 
great  length,  and  passed  by  the  sepulchral  caverns  of  the  kings,  and  bent  again  at  the  Tower 
of  the  Corner,  at  the  monument  which  is  called  the  Monument  of  the  Fuller,  and  jofned  to  the 
old  wall  at  the  valley  called  the  Valley  of  Kedron."  There  were  ninety  towers,  each  twenty 
cubits  wide,  and  for  a  height  of  twenty  cubits  built  of  solid  masonry.  From  the  remains  of 
old  foundations  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  third  wall  followed  the  line  of  the  present  one. 

The  "  Caverns  of  the  Kings  "  have  been  sometimes  identified  with  the  great  stone  quarries 
near  the  Damascus  Gate.  These  quarries  are  of  great  extent,  and  were  worked  with  a  view 
of  mining  or  getting  out  stone  from  what  is  locally  known  as  the  "  Malaki "  bed  of  limestone. 
The  quarries  are  thus  entirely  subterranean,  and  they  formerly  extended  some  distance  on 
each  side  of  the  present  city  wall.  When  that  wall  was  first  built  it  was  protected  by  a  rock- 
hewn  ditch,  and  the  workmen  in  forming  this  cut  through  the  upper  strata,  and  so  divided 
the  quarries  into  two  parts  ;  that  on  the  north  is  now  known  as  Jeremiah's  Grotto,  that  on 
the  south  as  the  "  Quarries,"  or  "  Cotton  Grotto "  (see  page  96).  At  the  same  period  an 
aqueduct  which  conveyed  water  from  the  north  to  the  Temple  area  was  also  cut  through. 
The  entrance  to  the  quarries  is  by  a  small  hole  between  the  roof  of  the  cavern  and  the  rubbish 
with  which  the  ditch  is  filled.  The  floor  falls  considerably  towards  the  south,  in  which 
direction  the  quarry  extends  for  about  two  hundred  yards,  and  the  roof  is  supported  at 
uncertain  intervals  by  pillars  of  rock. 

The  quarrymen  appear  to  have  worked  in  gangs  of  five  or  six  ;  the  height  of  the  stone 
determined  the  distance  of  the  workmen  from  each  other,  and  each  man  carried  in  a  vertical 
cut  four  inches  wide  till  he  reached  the  required  depth  ;  the  blocks  were  then  separated  by 
wooden  wedges  driven  in  and  wetted  so  as  to  cause  them  to  swell.  In  many  places  the  stones 
have  been  left  half  cut  out,  and  the  marks  of  the  chisel  and  pick  are  as  fresh  as  if  the  quarry- 
men  had  only  just  left  their  work;  even  the  black  patches  made  by  the  smoke  of  the  lamps 
are  still  visible.  In  one  part  of  the  quarry,  dropping  water,  derived  probably  from  the  leakage 
of  cisterns  above,  has  worn  the  rock  away  into  the  form  of  a  basin.  The  water  is  impure  and 
unpleasant  to  the  taste.  The  floor  of  the  quarry  is  covered  with  stone  chippings,  which  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  blocks  of  stone  were  "  dressed "  before  they  were  removed  from  the 
ground,  and  large  flakes  of  the  overlying  strata  have  fallen  from  the  roof,  the  spaces  left 
between  the  pillars  being  much  too  wide.  The  portion  of  the  quarry  known  as  Jeremiah's 
Grotto  (see  page  97)  is  much  smaller,  but  there  are  evident  traces  that  it  was  worked  in  the 
same  manner.  Two  Moslem  tombs  are  shown  within,  and  according  to  tradition  Jeremiah 
here  wrote  the  Book  of  Lamentations.  In  front  of  the  grotto  is  an  open  court  planted  with 
fruit  trees,  beneath  which  there  is  a  fine  cistern. 

One  of  the  most  pleasant  excursions  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem  is  that  to  Bethany  by  the 


JERUSALEM. 


85 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  SILOAM  FROM  THE  TOMB  OF  ST.  JAMES. 
Shewing  a  portion  of  the  great  Jewish  cemetery  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives. 


86 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


pathway  over  the  Mount  of  Olives,  returning  by  the  lower  road  above  Siloam.  Passing  out  of 
the  city  by  St.  Stephen's  Gate,  a  sharp  descent  leads  to  the  bed  of  Kedron,  which  is  spanned 


THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE. 
Franciscan  monks  under  the  ancient  olive-trees,  and  an  Arab  gardener  at  work. 


by  a  single  arch  ;  and  a  few  paces  now  brings  the  traveller  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Tomb  of  the 
Virgin  (see  page  87),  where  according  to  tradition  she  lay  after  death  until  her  "assumption." 


JERUSALEM, 


The  chapel  is  on  the  left  of  the  road.  A  few  steps  lead  down  to  an  open  court,  in  which  there 
is  a  fine  porch  of  the  Crusading  period,  the  only  part  of  the  church  above  ground.  The 
chapel,  which  is  about  thirty-five  feet  below  the  court,  is  reached  by  a  flight  of  marble  steps. 
On  descending,  a  chapel  on  the  right  is  said  to  contain  the  tombs  of  Joachim  and  Anna,  the 
parents  of  the  Virgin,  and  an  altar  in  a  chapel  to  the  left  marks  the  last  resting-place  of 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  TOMB  OF  THE  VIRGIN. 
In  the  valley  of  the  Kedron.    The  lizards  on  the  sunny  wall  are  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the  place. 


Joseph,  the  husband  of  Mary.  The  chapel,  or  subterranean  church,  is  about  ninety  feet  long 
from  east  to  west,  and  twenty  feet  wide.  In  the  east  arm  there  is  a  small  shrine  containing 
the  tomb  of  Mary,  outside  of  which  the  Greeks  and  Armenians  have  each  an  altar.  South  of 
the  tomb  there  is  a  Mo.slem  "  mihrab,"  and  in  the  western  arm  of  the  chapel,  close  to  a  large 
cistern,  the  Abyssinians  have  erected  an  altar.  The  chapel  is  excavated  in  the  rock,  and  in 
forming  it  advantage  appears  to  have  been  taken  of  a  natural  cavern,  or  possibly  of  an  old 


88 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


tomb  chamber.  In  its  present  state  the  chapel  has  little  in  common  with  the  tombs  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem.  The  Chapel  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Virgin  was  rebuilt  by 
Millicent,  the  wife  of  Fulke,  fourth  king  of  Jerusalem,  since  which  time  it  has  apparently 
received  little  alteration. 

On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road  is  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  (see  page  86),  a  small 
enclosure  surrounded  by  a  high  wall.  The  ground  is  laid  out  in  flower  beds,  which  are 
carefully  tended  by  a  Franciscan  monk;  but  the  most  interesting  objects  are  the  venerable 
olive-trees,  which  are  said  to  date  from  the  time  of  Christ,  and  which  may,  in  truth,  be  direct 
descendants  of  trees  which  grew  in  the  same  place  at  the  time  of  the  Crucifixion.  A  tradition, 
at  least  as  old  as  the  fourth  century,  identifies  this  plot  of  ground  with  the  garden  to  which 
Jesus  was  wont  to  retire  with  His  disciples. 

The  Church  of  the  Ascension,  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  (see  page  90),  is  a  small 
octagonal  chapel,  surmounted  by  a  circular  drum  and  dome,  standing  in  the  centre  of  a  paved 
court.  The  bases  and  capitals  of  the  columns,  taken  from  older  buildings,  are  of  white 
marble.  At  the  east  end  of  the  open  court  the  Greeks,  Armenians,  Syrians,  and  Copts, 
have  altars.  A  tradition  connecting  the  Mount  of  Olives  with  our  Lord's  Ascension  existed 
at  a  very  early  period,  though  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  words  of  St.  Luke,  who  says, 
"He  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany,  and  He  lifted  up  his  hands  and  blessed  them.  And  it 
came  to  pass,  while  He  blessed  them.  He  was  parted  from  them  and  carried  up  into  heaven." 
Eusebius  mentions  the  large  number  of  pilgrims  who  came  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to 
worship  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  ;  and  the  Empress  Helena,  in  erecting  a  basilica  on  the  spot, 
about  333  A.D.,  only  perpetuated  the' existing  tradition. 

The  road  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  Bethany  for  about  five  hundred  yards  follows  the 
south  side  of  the  hill ;  it  then  turns  abruptly  to  the  south  and  crosses  the  narrow  ridge  which 
joins  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  the  hill  above  Bethany.  Upon  the  ridge  the  Crusaders  placed 
Bethphage  (see  page  92),  and  here,  in  1877,  the  ruins  of  a  mediaeval  church,  with  its  apse, 
were  discovered,  enclosing  an  isolated  block  of  rock  ornamented  with  paintings  and  inscrip- 
tions. The  rock  is  about  three  feet  high,  and  its  position  in  the  chapel,  on  the  north  side  and 
probably  between  two  columns  of  the  nave,  is  remarkable.  On  the  south  side,  facing  Bethany, 
there  is  a  fresco  representing  the  raising  of  Lazarus  ;  on  the  north  side,  facing  Olivet,  the 
disciples  are  represented  as  having  just  obtained  permission  to  take  the  ass  and  the  foal ;  on 
the  east  face  the  subject  of  the  fresco  appears  to  have  been  the  consecration  of  the  chapel ; 
and  on  the  west,  figures  are  seen  bearing  palm-branches,  perhaps  part  of  a  fresco  representing 
our  Lord's  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem.  The  inscriptions  may  be  ascribed  beyond  doubt 
to  the  twelfth  century,  and  the  name  Bernard  Witard  occurs  on  one  of  the  faces.  In  the 
cartulary  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  the  name  of  Johannes  Guitard  (Witard)  is 
found,  and  Mons.  Ganneau  conjectures  that  Bernard  belonged  to  the  same  family  and  defrayed 
the  expenses  of  the  monument.  The  paintings  are  sadly  damaged,  but  they  are  said  "  to 
remind  one  of  illuminations  in  a  precious  missal  rather  than  an  ordinary  fresco  drawn  to  hide 
the  naked  stone." 


JERUSALEM. 


89 


Theodericus,  1172  a.d.,  in  his  account  of  the  Holy  Places,  states  that  Bethphage  lay 
between  Bethany  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  that  there  was  then  a  "  fair  chapel "  in  which 
was  to  be  seen  the  stone  on  which  our  Lord  stood  before  mounting  the  ass — evidently  the 


monolith  which  was  discovered  in 
1877.  There  is  thus  no  doubt  as  to 
the  site  of  the  mediaeval  Bethphage, 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  place  is 
identical  with  the  Bethphage  of  the 
gospel,  of  which  no  certain  trace  has 
yet  been  found. 

From    the   ruins    of  the  little 
chapel  the  road  descends  to  Bethany, 
now  a  small  village  of  wretched  hovels, 
surrounded  by  fig,  olive,  almond,  and 
carob  trees,  which  contrast  pleasantly 
with  the  barren  rocks  of  the  adjoin- 
ing hills.     The  Arabic  name  of  this 
place  is  El  Azin'yeh,  from   Lazarus,  and 
the  most  prominent  object  is  the  Castle 
of  Lazarus,  erected  during  the  period  of  the  Latin 
Kingdom  of  Jerusalem.      Near  the  castle  is  the 
tomb  ;  a  flight  of  steps  leads  down  to  a  small  square 
chamber,  whence  other  steps  give  access  to  the  vault 
in  which  the  body  of  Lazarus  is  said  to  have  been 
laid.     The  vault  is  lined  with  masonry,  and  has 
nothing  in  common  with  the  rock-hewn  tombs  in 
which  the  Jews  buried  their  dead.    In  Bethany  are  shown  the  houses  of  Mary  and  Martha 
and  of  Simon  the  Leper,  and  a  short  distance  on  the  road  to  Jericho  the  place  is  pointed  out 
at  which  Martha  met  Jesus.    Though  tradition  may  be  at  fault  with  regard  to  the  tomb  and 
13 


EXTERIOR  OF  THE  GOLDEN  GATE. 
Moslem  tombs  in  the  foreground. 


go 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


the  houses,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  identification  of  El  Azariyeh 
with  Bethany,  the  village  in  which  Jesus  lodged  before  the  last  Passover,  and  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  which  He  called  Lazarus  forth  from  the  grave. 

The  Roman  road  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem,  after  leaving  Bethany,  winds  round  the 
southern  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and,  passing  above  Siloam,  ascends  the  Kedron  Valley 
to  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane.  Over  this  road  Jesus  must  often  have  travelled  with  his 
disciples,  and  there  is  one  place,  where  the  road  is  partly  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  which  has 
apparently  undergone  no  change  since  the  days  of  His  earthly  ministry. 

It  was  by  this  road,  too,  that  our  Saviour  made  His  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem,  an 


MOSQUE  AND  CHURCH  OF  THE  ASCENSION,  MOUNT  OF  OLIVES. 


event  which  is  so  graphically  described  by  the  Dean  of  Westminster  that  we  venture  to 
borrow  his  words  :  "  Two  vast  streams  of  people  met  that  day.  The  one  poured  out  from  the 
city  (John  xii.  13)  ;  and  as  they  came  through  the  gardens  whose  clusters  of  palm-trees  rose 
on  the  south-eastern  corner  of  Olivet,  they  cut  down  the  long  branches,  as  was  their  wont  at 
the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  moved  upwards  towards  Bethany  with  loud  shouts  of  welcome. 
From  Bethany  streamed  forth  the  crowds  who  had  assembled  there  on  the  previous  night,  and 
who  came  testifying  to  the  great  event  at  the  sepulchre  of  Lazarus.  In  going  towards 
Jerusalem  the  road  soon  loses  sight  of  Bethany.  It  is  now  a  rough  but  still  broad  and  well- 
defined  mountain  track,  winding  over  loose  rock  and  stones,  and  here  and  there  deeply  exca- 
vated ;  a  steep  declivity  below  on  the  left,  the  sloping  shoulder  of  Olivet  above  it  on  the  right ; 


JERUSALEM. 


91 


NEBY  SAMWIL,  FROM  THE  MOUNT  OF 
OLIVES. 

The  highest  mountain  near  Jerusalem,  3,006  feet 
above  the  sea. 


of  Olives  towards  Jerusalem. 


fig-trees  below  and  above, 
growing  out  of  the  rocky 
soil.    Along  the  road  the 
multitudes  threw  down  the 
branches  which  they  cut 
as   they  went   along,  or 
spread  out  a  rude  matting 
formed     of    the  palm- 
branchcs  they  had  already  cut  as  they  came  out. 
The  larger  portion — those  perhaps  who  escorted 
Him  from  Bethany-  unwrapped  their  loose  cloaks 
from  their  shoulders  and  stretched  them  along 
the  rough  path  to  form  a  momentary  carpet  as  he  approached 
(Matt.  xxi.  8).     The  two  streams  met.     Half  of  the  vast 
mass,   turning  round,  preceded ;   the   other  half  followed 
(Mark  xi.  9).    Gradually  the  long  procession  swept  round 
the  little  valley  that  furrows  the  hill,  and  over  the  ridge  on 
its  western  side,  where  first  begins  the  descent  of  the  Mount 
At  this  point  the  first  view  is  caught  of  the  south-western 


92 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


corner  of  the  city.  The  temple  and  the  more  northern  portions  are  hid  by  the  slope  of  Olivet 
on  the  right;  what  is  seen  is  only  Mount  Zion,  now  for  the  most  part  a  rough  field,  crowned 


TRADITIONAL  SITE  OF  BETHPHAGE,  THE  HOUSE  OF  FIGS. 
On  the  ridge  which  leads  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  the  hill  above  Bethany.    Fig-trees  grow  by  the  wayside,  and  branches  of  the  fig-tree 

border  the  picture. 


with  the  Mosque  of  David  and  the  angle  of  the  western  walls,  but  then  covered  with  houses 
to  its  base,  surmounted  by  the  Castle  of  Herod,  on  the  supposed  site  of  the  Palace  of  David, 
from  which  that  portion  of  Jerusalem,  emphatically  the  '  City  of  David,'  derived  its  name.  It 


JERUSALEM. 


93 


was  at  this  precise  point, 
'  as  he  drew  near,  at  the 
descent  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives  ' — (may  it  not  have 
been  from  the  sight  thus  opening  upon 
them  ?) — that  the  shout  of  triumph 
burst    forth    from     the  multitude, 
'  Hosanna   to    the    Son    of   David  ! 
Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.' 
(Matt.  xxi.  9).    There  was  a  pause  as  the  shout  rang 
through  the  long  defile ;  and  as  the  Pharisees  who 
stood  by  in  the  crowd  complained,  He  pointed  to 
the  stones,  which,  strewn  beneath  their  feet,  would 
immediately  cry  out  if  '  these  were  to  hold  their 


PART  OF  THE  NORTH  WALL  OF  JERUSALEM, 
Formed  of  the  native  rock  blended  with  masonry.  A  shepherd 
in  the  foreground  is  playing  a  double-reed  pipe. 


94 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


peace.'  Again  the  procession  advanced.  The  road  descends  a  slight  declivity,  and  the  glimpse 
of  the  city  is  again  withdrawn  behind  the  intervening  ridge  of  Olivet.  A  few  moments  and 
the  path  mounts  again  ;  it  climbs  a  rugged  ascent,  it  reaches  a  ledge  of  smooth  rock,  and  in  an 
instant  the  whole  city  bursts  into  view.  As  now  the  dome  of  the  Mosque  El  Aksa  rises  like 
a  ghost  from  the  earth  before  the  traveller  who  stands  on  the  ledge,  so  then  must  have  risen 
the  Temple  tower;  as  now  the  vast  enclosure  of  the  Mussulman  sanctuary,  so  then  must  have 
spread  the  Temple  courts  ;  as  now  the  gray  town  on  its  broken  hills,  so  then  the  magnificent 
city,  with  its  background — long  since  vanished  away — of  gardens  and  suburbs  on  the  western 
plateau  behind.  Immediately  below  was  the  Valley  of  the  Kedron,  here  seen  in  its  greatest 
depths  as  it  joins  the  Valley  of  Hinnom,  and  thus  giving  full  effect  to  the  great  peculiarity  of 
Jerusalem,  seen  only  on  its  eastern  side — its  situation  as  of  a  city  rising  out  of  a  deep  abyss. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  this  rise  and  turn  of  the  road — this  rocky  ledge — was 
the  exact  point  where  the  multitude  paused  again,  and  '  He,  when  He  beheld  the  city,  wept 
over  it.'  " 

The  road  from  Bethany  to  Jerusalem  leaves  Siloam  (Silwan)  on  the  left.  This  village 
(see  pages  85,  115),  which  derives  its  name  from  the  pool  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tyropoeon 
Valley,  stretches  north  and  south  in  a  straggling,  irregular  manner  along  the  lower  slopes  of 
the  Mount  of  Offence.  Entering  the  village  at  the  northern  end,  the  visitor  has  on  his  left 
hand  a  high  cliff,  which  was  evidently  worked  as  a  quarry  at  some  early  period.  The  houses 
and  the  streets  of  Siloam,  if  such  they  may  be  called,  are  filthy  in  the  extreme,  and  the 
villagers  are  notorious  thieves,  sometimes  not  over-courteous  to  visitors.  Their  principal 
occupation  is  carrying  water  from  "  Job's  Well "  for  sale  in  Jerusalem,  and  they  have  an 
ingenious  way  of  blowing  out  the  sheepskins  in  which  the  water  is  carried,  so  that  they  may 
appear  filled  when  containing  only  half  the  proper  quantity  of  water.  About  one  hundred  of 
the  villagers  form  a  group  apart  from  the  rest,  called  "men  of  Dhiban,"  the  descendants 
apparently  of  a  colony  from  the  capital  of  King  Mesha,  which  at  some  remote  period  crossed 
the  Jordan  and  established  itself  on  the  borders  of  Kedron.  Siloam,  the  village,  is  unmen- 
tioned  in  ancient  times,  but  it  may  possibly  mark  the  spot  upon  which  Solomon  built  high 
places  "  for  Ashtoreth  the  abomination  of  the  Zidonians,  and  for  Chemosh  the  abomination  of 
the  Moabites,  and  for  Milcom  (Molech)  the  abomination  of  the  children  of  Ammon."  The 
Mount  of  Offence  (see  page  107)  behind  the  village  would  in  this  .case  be  the  "  mount  of 
corruption"  of  2  Kings  xxiii.  13,  as  it  certainly  is  the  "  mons  offensionis  "  of  early  travellers, 
the  "  opprobrious  hill  "  of  Milton. 

Jerusalem  is  surrounded  by  cemeteries,  ancient  and  modern.  Without  the  Zion  Gate, 
near  the  tomb  of  David,  are  those  of  the  Latins,  Greeks,  and  Armenians  ;  and  here  may  be 
seen  the  grave  of  the  ill-fated  Irishman,  Costigan,  who,  after  having  successfully  descended 
Jordan  in  a  boat,  and  reached  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  died  in  the  Latin  convent  at 
Jerusalem.  Here,  too,  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  Latin  cemetery,  two  members  of  the 
American  Mission,  Dr.  Dodge  and  Mrs.  Thomson,  were  buried.    The  present  Protestant 


JERUSALEM. 


95 


cemetery  is  on  the  western  slope  of  the  same  hill,  above  the  Valley  of  Hinnom  ;  it  is  the  only 
burial-place  near  Jerusalem  which  is  efficiently  closed  and  properly  tended.  Within  its  walls 
lie  the.  remains  of  the  two  first  Anglican  bishops  of  Jerusalem — Dr.  Alexander  and 
'Dr.  Gobat — and  also  those  of  Mr.  Tyrwhitt  Drake,  who  died  of  fever,  due  to  exposure  and 
over-exertion  whilst  engaged  on  the  great  work  of  the  survey  of  Palestine.  The  Moslem 
cemeteries  are — first,  that  extending  along  the  eastern  wall  of  the  city,  from  a  little  north  of 
St.  Stephen's  Gate  to  the  vicinity  of  the  south-east  angle  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  which, 
from  its  proximity  to  the  sacred  area,  is  most  esteemed  ;  second,  the  ground  above  Jeremiah's 
Grotto  ;  and,  third,  the  extensive  cemetery  round  the  Birket  Mamilla,  near  the  head  of  the 
Valley  of  Hinnom  (see  page  102).  The  great  Jewish  cemetery  is  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives  ;  it  extends  northwards  from  Siloam,  and  runs  up  the  hill  almost  to  the  Tombs 
of  the  Prophets.  In  places,  especially  near  Absalom's  Pillar  and  the  Tomb  of  Zacharias,  the 
ground  is  literally  paved  with  tombstones  (see  pages  82  and  85).  The  simplest  form  of  tomb 
is  that  in  which  a  common  grave  is  sunk  in  the  rock,  and  a  reveal  cut  round  its  mouth  to 
receive  a  covering  slab.  In  some  cases  the  slab  is  flush  with  the  surface- of  the  rock  ;  in  others 
it  is  raised  above  it  and  ornamented  like  the  lid  of  a  sarcophagus.  Another  simple  form  of 
tomb,  to  which  the  name  of  "  trough  grave  "  has  been  given,  is  that  in  which  an  arched  recess 
is  cut  in  the  face  of  the  rock  and  a  common  grave  sunk  in  its  floor.  A  third  simple  form  is 
that  in  which  a  rectangular  space  is  cut  into  the  vertical  face  of  the  rock,  after  the  manner  of  an 
oven,  extending  six  feet  or  more  horizontally  inwards,  and  sufficiently  wide  and  high  to  admit 
of  a  corpse  being  pushed  in.  The  opening  is  closed  by  a  stone  slab  or  by  a  rough  unhewn 
mass  of  rock.  Such  a  grave  is  called  in  the  Talmud  a  "  kok  "  (pi.  "  kokim  ").  A  fourth  kind  of 
tomb  is  the  "  shelf  grave  " — a  shelf  or  bench,  six  feet  long,  cut  in  the  vertical  face  of  the  rock, 
upon  which  the  corpse  was  laid  even  when  it  had  first  been  placed  in  a  sarcophagus.  The 
most  comm'on  description  of  tomb  is  that  in  which  a  number  of  kokim,  shelf,  or  trough  graves 
are  grouped  together  in  one  or  more  chambers  of  the  same  excavation.  These  tombs  may 
be  divided  into  three  classes.  The  first  class  is  that  in  which  a  natural  cavern  in  one  of  the 
softer  strata  of  limestone  is  adapted  to  sepulchral  purposes.  Kokim  are  cut  in  the  sides  of  the 
cave,  with  their  beds  on  a  level  with  the  ground,  and  the  openings  are  then  closed  with  rough 
stone  slabs  resting  against  the  face  of  the  rock  or  fitting  more  closely  into  the  excavation.  In 
this  class  of  tomb  no  arrangement  was  made  for  closing  the  entrance  to  the  cavern.  It  seems 
not  improbable  that  these  tombs  were  used  for  the  burial  of  the  poor,  and  they  were  perhaps 
constructed  at  the  public  expense.  In  the  second  class  of  tomb  a  square  or  oblong  chamber 
is  carefully  cut  in  the  solid  rock  ;  the  entrance  is  by  a  low  square  opening,  closed  either  by  a 
closely  fitting  stone  slab  or  by  a  stone  door  turning  on  a  socket  hinge  and  secured  by  bolts  on 
the  inside.  These  tombs,  remarkable  for  the  care  which  has  been  bestowed  on  the  excavation, 
were  probably  the  family  vaults  of  wealthy  people.  The  third  class  of  tomb  is  that  in  which 
one  entrance  leads  to  several  tomb-chambers,  each  containing  a  large  number  of  graves,  and 
sometimes  sarcophagi. 


96 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


One  of  the  best  examples  of  this  class  is  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  (see  page  103),  situated 
to  the  north  of  Jerusalem  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road  to  Nablus.  A  large  rectangular 
court,  measuring  about  ninety-three  feet  by  eighty-seven  feet,  and  some  twenty  feet  deep,  is 
sunk  in  the  solid  rock,  which  here  forms  the  natural  surface  of  the  ground.  On  the  south  side 
a  broad  trench  was  cut  so  as  to  leave  a  wall  of  rock  seven  feet  thick  between  it  and  the  court ; 
a  flight  of  steps  leads  to  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  whence  an  arched  doorway,  cut  in  the 
intervening  rock,  gives  access  to  the  court.  In  the  west  face  of  the  court  an  open  portico  is 
excavated  in  the  rock ;  the  front  was  supported  by  two  pillars,  which  are  now  broken  away. 
The  face  of  the  portico  is  ornamented  with  a  frieze  and  cornice  of  a  debased  Roman  Doric 


THE  QUARRIES  NEAR  TO  THE  DAMASCUS  GATE. 
Beneath  the  city  of  Jerusalem. 


order  ;  the  former  is  enriched  with  clusters  of  grapes,  triglyphs,  and  paterae,  and  a  continuous 
garland  of  fruit  and  foliage,  which  extends  across  the  portico  and  is  carried  down  the  sides. 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings,  on  the  road  to  Neby  Samwil,  is  the 
extensive  necropolis  which  includes  the  Tombs  of  the  Judges  (see  page  103).  Within  an 
open  vestibule  facing  west,  ornamented  with  a  simple  architrave  moulding,  surmounted  by  a 
Greek-looking  pediment  of  considerable  beauty,  there  is  a  small  doorway,  also  decorated  with 
architrave  and  pediment,  which  leads  from  the  vestibule  to  the  principal  tomb-chamber. 

Returning  to  the  Kedron  Valley  and  following  its  course  downwards,  numbers  of  tombs 
of  greater  or  less  size  are  to  be  seen  on  either  side.    The  most  noteworthy  is  that  of  Simon 


JERUSALEM. 


97 


the  Just,  to  which  the  Jews  resort  the  thirty-third  day  after  the  Passover  to  celebrate  the 
memory  of  the  son  of  Onias,  who  was  high  priest  during  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Soter.  We 
now  come  to  the  well-known  group  of  tombs  in  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  the  first  being 
"  Absalom's  Tomb"  (see  page  83).  The  lower  part  of  this  monument  is  a  mass  of  solid  rock 
about  twenty  feet  square,  which  has  been  completely  detached  from  the  cliff  behind  it  by 
working  away  a  passage  ten  feet  in  width  at  the  sides  and  nine  at  the  back,  so  as  to  leave  the 
tomb  standing  in  a  square  recess  hewn  out  of  the  cliff.  It  contains  a  chamber  eight  feet 
square,  with  shelf  graves  on  two  sides  for  the  reception  of  sarcophagi.    The  original  door  was 


GROTTO  OF  JEREMIAH. 
In  the  foreground  is  a  goatherd  playing  on  a  double-reed  pipe. 


situated  immediately  above  the  cornice,  and  a  few  steps  led  down  to  the  chamber.  Another 
more  modern  door  consisted  of  a  horizontal  passage  on  a  level  with  the  chamber,  and  opening 
to  the  exterior,  at  half  the  height  of  the  monument.  In  the  face  of  the  rock  behind  the 
monolith  is  the  entrance  to  the  Tomb  of  Jehoshaphat,  surmounted  by  a  pediment  in  the  same 
style  as  that  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Judges  (see  page  82).  The  door  leads  to  an  antechamber, 
whence  three  other  chambers  open  out,  one  of  which  gives  access  to  a  small  cell.  The  next 
tomb  is  that  of  St.  James,  which  is  excavated  in  the  face  of  the  rock  (see  page  85).  A  screen 
with  two  Doric  pillars  supports  a  frieze  and  cornice  of  the  same  order.    Above  the  cornice 


98 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


there  is  an  inscription  in  Hebrew,  connecting  the  tomb  with  the  family  of  Beni-Hezir,  and  the 
whole  is  supposed  to  date  from  the  second  or  first  century  B.C.  The  Tomb  of  Zechariah  is 
excavated  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Tomb  of  Absalom.  It  is  about  eighteen  feet  six  inches 
square,  and  has  on  each  face  two  whole  and  two  half  engaged  Ionic  columns.  The  columns 
are  surmounted  by  a  cornice  of  purely  Assyrian  type,  but  the  form  of  the  volutes,  and  the 
egg  and  dart  moulding  beneath,  show  that  it  was  ornamented  after  the  influence  of  Roman 
art  had  been  felt  in  Palestine.  Above  the  cornice  rises  a  pyramid  also  cut  out  of  the  rock. 
There  is  no  visible  entrance  to  the  Tomb  of  Zechariah,  but  the  base  is  hidden  by  rubbish,  and 
the  door  may  possibly  be  concealed. 

Above  these  tombs,  some  distance  up  the  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  is  a  curious 
sepulchral  excavation  in  the  soft  chalk  called  the  "  Tombs  of  the  Prophets."  The  entrance  is 
by  a  hole  in  the  ground,  which  gives  access  to  a  circular  chamber  having  a  round  hole  in  the 
roof,  probably  intended  to  admit  light.  Three  passages  connected  by  two  semicircular 
galleries  run  off  from  the  chamber,  and  there  are  a  few  smaller  passages  which  lead  to  chambers 
containing  two  or  three  kokim  each.  Mons.  Ganneau,  whilst  examining  this  curious  crypt, 
was  fortunate  enough  to  discover,  under  the  stucco  which  covers  the  walls,  a  dozen  or  so 
Greek  Christian  inscriptions.  The  greater  part  are  proper  names.  With  the  patronymic 
twice  occurs  the  formula,  "  here  lies,"  and  "  courage,  no  one  is  immortal."  This  crypt  probably 
served  as  a  cemetery  to  some  one  of  the  numerous  monasteries  founded  quite  early  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  In  the  Kedron  Valley,  about  half  a  mile  below  Bir  Eyub,  there  is  a 
remarkable  tomb  consisting  of  a  vestibule,  an  antechamber,  three  tomb  chambers  with  kokim, 
and  a  fourth  apparently  unfinished. 

The  next  extensive  group  of  tombs  is  that  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Valley  of  Hinnom. 
Many  of  these  are  highly  interesting  from  the  fact  that  they  have  been  made  or  modified  at  a 
later  date  than  those  on  the  north  side  of  the  city.  Some  of  the  roofs  are  dome-shaped  and 
ornamented,  and  near  the  lower  end  of  the  series  there  are  two  recessed  half  domes  cut  in 
the  rock,  with  stone  benches  running  round  them.  Most  of  the  entrances  seem  to  have  been 
closed  by  a  stone  door  which  turned  on  a  socket  hinge,  and  was  fastened  by  bolts  on  the 
inside.  Leaving  the  bed  of  the  valley  a  little  above  Bir  Eyub,  and  ascending  by  some  rock- 
hewn  steps,  the  first  tomb  worthy  of  notice  is  that  called  the  "  Apostles'  Cave,"  from  the 
tradition  that  eight  of  the  twelve  Apostles  concealed  themselves  in  it  after  the  betrayal  in 
the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  (see  page  1 14).  Over  the  entrance  is  a  frieze,  ornamented  with 
bunches  of  grapes,  &c.,  in  the  same  style  as  the  facade  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings.  A  little 
further  on  is  the  building  known  as  "Aceldama"  (see  page  iio).  It  consists  of  a  large 
pointed  arch,  covering  a  deep  chamber,  one  side  of  which  is  composed  of  rock  with  masonry 
buttresses,  the  other  of  masonry.  At  the  bottom  are  two  caves  or  sepulchral  chambers,  with 
kokim  and  traces  of  steps  which  at  one  time  must  have  led  to  the  bottom.  This  is  supposed 
to  be  the  "  potter's  field,"  or  "  field  of  blood,"  which  the  chief  priests  bought  with  the  "  thirty 
pieces  of  silver,"  the  price  of  our  Lord's  betrayal.     It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  note 


JERUSALEM. 


lOI 


excavated  in  this  stratum.  Captain  Warren's  excavations  have  shown  us  the  deep  rugged 
character  of  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  in  its  normal  state,  and,  judging  from  what  is  seen  in  the 
surrounding  valleys,  the  malaki  bed  would  appear  on  each  side  of  the  valley  as  a  cliff ;  in  the 
face  of  this  cliff  were,  in  all  probability,  the  entrances  to  the  tombs  of  David  and  the  other 
kings  who  were  buried  in  the  City  of  David.  David's  Tomb  appears  to  have  been  the  lowest, 
or  that  nearest  Siloam  ;  the  others  were  higher  up  the  valley,  and  some  at  least,  we  may  infer 
from  Ezekiel  xliii.  7,  8,  were  close  to  the  Temple.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt 
that  excavations  properly  directed  would  recover  these  tombs. 

The  works  connected  with  the  water  supply  of  Jerusalem  are  of  very  great  interest. 
It  is  well  known  that  in  the  many  sieges  which  the  Holy  City  has  sustained  the  besiegers 
without  the  walls  suffered  from  want  of  water,  whilst  the  besieged  within  were  amply 
supplied.  The  cisterns  hewn  out  of  the  ,rock  for  the  storage  of  water  in  the  Haram  esh 
Sherif  have  already  been  alluded  to,  but  they  only  formed  part  of  the  general  scheme  for 
the  supply  of  water  to  the  whole  city.  The  present  supply  is  deficient  in  quantity  and  as 
a  rule  bad  in  quality  ;  to  this  may  be  attributed  the  fact  that  the  city  which  the  Psalmist 
once  described  in  loving  terms  as  "  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth,"  has  become  one  of  the  most 
unhealthy  cities  of  the  world. 

The  plateau  on  the  edge  of  which  the  city  is  situated  slopes  uniformly  to  the  south-east, 
and  contains  about  one  thousand  acres  ;  it  is  composed  of  white,  yellow,  and  buff  limestones 
of  the  age  of  the  English  chalk.  The  upper  beds,  from  eighteen  inches  to  four  feet  in 
thickness,  provide  an  extremely  hard  compact  stone,  called  by  the  Arabs  "  missae  ; "  whilst 
the  lower,  some  forty  feet  in  thickness,  consist  of  a  soft  white  stone  termed  "  malaki."  In 
this  latter  bed  most  of  the  ancient  tombs  and  cisterns  at  Jerusalem  have  been  excavated. 
The  strata  are  much  broken  and  cracked,  so  that  the  rain  readily  sinks  into  the  ground,  and 
finds  its  way  downwards  through  a  thousand  hidden  channels,  to  be  given  out  at  a  lower 
level.  The  general  direction  of  this  underground  flow  and  of  the  surface  drainage  of  the 
plateau  is  towards  Bir  Eyub  ("Job's  Well"),  below  the  junction  of  the  two  main  ravines, 
Kedron  and  Hinnom  (see  page  117). 

It  was  at  one  time  supposed  that  the  quantity  of  rain  which  fell  at  Jerusalem  each  year 
was  very  large,  from  fifty  to  eighty  inches,  but  the  average  annual  rainfall  is  really  not  more 
than  about  nineteen  inches,  and  the  rainy  season  is  spread  over  the  winter  months  from 
November  to  March.  During  the  remaining  months  even  a  slight  shower  is  of  the  rarest 
occurrence,  and  the  heavens  become,  to  use  the  graphic  language  of  the  Bible,  as  "brass," 
and  the  earth  as  "  iron."  Every  three  or  four  years  there  is  a  fall  of  snow,  which  lies  on  the 
ground  for  a  day  or  two  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  occasionally  an  almost  total 
failure  of  rain.  The  number  of  cisterns  and  reservoirs  which  were  excavated  or  built  for 
the  collection  of  the  rainfall,  and  the  skill  exhibited  in  the  construction  of  the  conduits  that 
brought  water  into  the  city,  show  pretty  clearly  that  there  has  been  no  material  change  in  the 
climate  since  the  days  of  the  Jewish  monarchy. 


102  PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


The  modern  supply  of  water  is  derived  from  springs,  wells,  cisterns,  pools,  or  reservoirs, 
and  springs  connected  with  the  city  by  aqueducts. 

The  only  true  spring  known  to  exist  in  Jerusalem  at  the  present  day  is  the  "  Fountain 


VALLEY  OF  HINNOM,  FROM  THE  NORTH-WEST  ANGLE  OF  THE  CITY  WALL. 
On  the  right  is  the  aqueduct  from  Solomon's  Pools,  which  crosses  the  valley  just  above  the  Birket  es  Sultan,  commonly  called  the  Lower  Pool 
of  Gihon.    The  large  building  within  the  city  walls,  surrounded  with  trees,  is  the  Armenian  Monastery. 


of  the  Virgin."  This  spring  has  a  constant  though  small  flow  of  water,  and  also  an 
intermittent  one,  which  appears  to  depend  upon  the  rainfall,  and  which  consists  in  a  sudden 


THE  BUCKET  MAMILLA,  COMMONLY  CALLED  THE  UPPER  POOL  OF  GIHON. 
Surrounded  by  Moslem  tombs.    In  the  background  the  Jaffa  Gate  is  shown,  with  the  Citadel  on  the  right  and  the  Anglican  Church  on  the  left. 


increase  of  the  ordinary  flow.  In  winter  there  are  from  three  to  five  flows  per  diem  ;  in 
summer  two  ;  later  on,  in  autumn,  only  one  ;  but  after  a  dry  winter  the  flow  takes  place  only 


JERUSALEM. 


once  in  three  or  four  days. 
The  water  is  conveyed  from 
the  spring  to  the  Upper  Pool  ' 
of  Siloam  (see  page  77)  by  a  v 
passage  cut  in  the  rock,  and 
thence  runs  down  to  irrigate  some  gardens. 
Its  taste  is  slightly  salt  and  decidedly  un- 
pleasant, owing  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  the 
water  has  filtered  through  the  mass  of 
rubbish  and  filth  on  which  the  city  stands.  This 
peculiarity  in  the  taste  is  intensified  at  Siloam,  as  the 
water  passes  over  a  slimy  deposit,  from  two  to  three 
inches  deep,  which  covers  the  bottom  of  the  passage. 
The  people  make  matters  worse  by  bathing  and  washing 
their  clothes  in  the  same  place  from  which  they  draw 
water  for  drinking  purposes.  The  passage  between 
the  spring  and  the  Upper  Pool  of  Siloam  is  seventeen 


I'- 


ROCK  TOMBS  NORTH  OF  JERUSALEM. 

The  Tombs  of  the  Judges  on  the  road  to  Neby  Sam- 
wil,  and  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  on  the  road  to 
Nabliis. 


I04  PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 

hundred  feet  long,  about  two  feet  wide,  and  from  one  foot  ten  inches  to  sixteen  feet  in 
height.  The  lower  portion  is  not  easy  to  pass  through,  especially  if  the  spring  commences 
to  flow  whilst  the  explorer  is  engaged  in  making  the  attempt.  In  connection  with  the 
passage  Captain  Warren  opened  out  a  rock-hewn  canal,  which  ran  for  some  distance  due 
west,  with  a  slight  fall,  so  that  the  water  from  the  spring  could  flow  down  to  the  western 
end,  where  a  shallow  basin  had  been  excavated  to  receive  it.  From  this  point  a  circular 
shaft,  more  than  forty  feet  high,  led  upwards  to  a  great  corridor  excavated  in  the  rock, 
whence  a  flight  of  steps  gave  access  to  the  surface  at  a  point,  on  that  portion  of  Mount 
Moriah  known  as  Ophel,  which  must  have  been  well  within  the  ancient  walls  of  the  city. 
It  was  thus  possible  for  the  Jews  on  the  approach  of  an  enemy  to  close  or  "seal  "  the  well 
with  blocks  of  stone,  and  at  the  same  time  procure  a  supply  of  water  for  their  own  use  by 
means  of  the  shaft  or  well  within  the  walls.  In  the  corridor  three  glass  lamps  of  curious 
construction  were  found  placed  at  intervals,  as  if  to  light  up  the  passage  to  the  shaft.  A 
little  pile  of  charcoal,  as  if  for  cooking,  a  dish  glazed  inside,  jars  of  red  pottery,  and  other 
lamps,  were  also  found,  as  well  as  an  iron  ring  overhanging  the  shaft,  to  which  a  rope  might 
have  been  attached  for  drawing  water.  The  Virgin's  Fountain  derives  its  name  from  the 
tradition  that  the  Virgin  drew  water  from  the  well  and  washed  the  swaddling  clothes  there. 

The  only  real  well  at  Jerusalem  is  Bir  Eyub,  Job's  Well  (see  page  120),  situated  a  little 
below  the  junction  of  the  Kedron  and  Hinnom  Valleys.  It  has  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet,  and  the  water,  which  is  collected  in  a  large  rock-hewn  chamber  at  the  bottom, 
is  derived  from  the  drainage  of  the  two  valleys  and  their  offshoots.  The  supply  is  directly 
dependent  on  the  rainfall,  and  in  winter  the  water  occasionally  rises  above  the  shaft  and  flows 
down  the  valley  in  a  stream.  This  generally  occurs  in  January,  after  from  three  to  five 
consecutive  days'  rain.  At  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  there  is  a  large  chamber, 
from  the  bottom  of  which  a  shaft  leads  downwards  to  the  present  collector.  This  seems  to 
indicate  that  the  well  was  deepened  at  some  period.  There  is  much  rubbish  in  this  part  of 
the  valley,  and  the  plan  in  constructing  the  well  seems  to  have  been  to  try  and  stop  out  the 
surface  drainage,  which  might  be  charged  with  impurities  from  the  city,  and  to  depend  entirely 
on  the  water  which  runs  in  freely  between  the  lower  beds  of  the  limestone.  The  well,  which 
is  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  supply  to  the  poorer  classes,  is  inconveniently  situated  at 
the  foot  of  a  steep  hill,  and  the  water  has  to  be  carried  to  Jerusalem  in  goat  skins.  This 
traffic  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  villagers  of  Silwan  (Siloam),  who  charge  from 
one  penny  to  sixpence  per  skin  for  water  delivered  in  the  city,  and  are  much  given  to  cheating 
by  partly  filling  the  skins  with  air.  The  water  of  Bir  Eyub  has,  though  in  a  much  less 
degree,  the  peculiar  taste  of  that  of  Siloam.  This  probably  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
surface  drainage  from  the  city  is  imperfectly  stopped  out. 

In  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  there  is  a  well  that  supplies  water  to  the  Turkish  bath  in  the 
old  Cotton  Market.  The  shaft  of  the  well,  eighty  feet  deep,  passes  entirely  through  rubbish, 
and  at  its  foot  there  is  a  rock-hewn  conduit  stretching  in  a  southerly  direction,  in  which  the 


THE  CITADEL  OF  JERUSALEM  FROM  THE  VALLEY  OF  HINNOM. 


io6 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


water  lies.  This  conduit  was  probably  connected  with  that  discovered  near  Robinson's  Arch, 
which  was  cut  when  the  present  south-west  angle  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif  was  built,  and  it 
possibly  formed  part  of  the  great  system  of  water  supply  devised  by  King  Hezekiah.  The 
supply  of  water  is  due  partly  to  infiltration,  and  partly,  perhaps,  to  the  flow  of  water  from  a 


SARACENIC  FOUNTAIN  ON  THE  AQUEDUCT  FROM  SOLOMON'S  POOLS. 
The  causeway,  to  which  the  aqueduct  forms  a  parapet  on  the  north  side,  crosses  the  Valley  of  Hinnom  just  above  the  Birket  es  Sultan. 

concealed  spring  higher  up  the  valley.  In  either  case  it  passes  through  the  foul  mass  of 
rubbish  on  which  the  city  now  stands,  and  acquires  a  nauseous  taste. 

There  are  four  classes  of  cisterns  in  Jerusalem.  First,  those  which  have  been  formed  by 
sinking  deep  shafts  through  the  rock,  and  then  making  a  bottle  or  retort-shaped  excavation  at 
the  bottom  to  act  as  a  collector.  These  cisterns  appear  to  be  of  very  great  age.  They  derive 
their  supply  in  part  from  surface  drainage  and  in  part  from  the  water  which  finds  its  way  in 


JERUSALEM. 


107 


between  the  beds  of  limestone ;  even  in  the  driest  summer  the  percolation  gives  three  or  four 
buckets  of  water  between  sunset  and  sunrise.  The  second  class,  of  which  the  "great  sea"  in 
front  of  the  Mosque  el  Aksa  is  a  good  type,  consists  of  great  tanks,  from  forty  to  sixty  feet 
deep,  which  have  been  formed  by  making  small  openings  in  the  hard  overlying  beds  of  lime- 
stone ("  missae  "),  and  then  excavating  the  softer  "  malaki  "  beneath.  The  roofs  are  of  rock, 
generally  strong  enough  to  stand  by  themselves,  but  in  the  larger  cisterns  supported  by  rough 


MOUNT  OF  OFFENCE  FROM  THE  VALLEY  OF  HINNOM 

pillars  left  for  the  purpose.  The  labour  ex- 
pended in  mining  out  the  underlying  rock  and 
bringing  it  to  the  surface  through  small  open- 
ings must  have  been  very  great,  and  it  seems 
natural  to  suppose  that  these  cisterns  were 
made  before  the  use  of  the  arch  for  covering 
large  openings  became  general.  The  third  class 
comprises  those  in  which  the  rock  has  been  cut 

perpendicularly  downwards  and  a  plain  covering  arch  thrown  over  the  excavation.  Such 
cisterns  are  found  near  the  Golden  Gate,  beneath  the  platform  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  and 
in  various  places  in  the  city.  The  cisterns  of  the  second  and  third  class  were  formerly  supplied 
by  aqueducts,  now  they  have  to  depend  on  surface  drainage.  The  fourth  description  of  cistern 
is  that  which  has  been  built  in  the  rubbish  of  the  city,  and  is  of  modern  date.     Cisterns  of  this 


io8 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


class  are  entirely  dependent  on  the  rain  which  falls  during  the  winter ;  those  which  have  been 
constructed  by  Europeans  in  convents  and  dwelling-houses  are  good,  and,  being  carefully 
cleaned  out  every  year,  furnish  water  that  is  always  clean  and  sweet.  Such,  however,  is  not 
the  case  with  those  in  the  native  houses ;  when  the  rain  commences,  as  much  as  possible 
is  collected,  even  from  the  streets,  which,  being  the  common  latrine  of  the  city,  are  by  the 
end  of  the  rainy  season  in  a  very  filthy  state.  Every  duct  is  opened,  and  all  the  summer's 
accumulation  of  rubbish  and  refuse  is  carried  from  roof  and  courtyard  to  the  cistern  below. 
During  the  early  part  of  summer  little  evil  arises,  but  towards  autumn  the  water  gets  low, 
the  buckets  in  descending  stir  up  the  deposit,  and  the  mixture  which  thousands  then  have  to 
use  as  their  daily  beverage  is  almost  too  horrible  to  think  of.  At  this  time,  too,  a  sort  of 
miasma  seems  to  rise  up  from  the  refuse  and  the  fever  season  commences.  The  most 
remarkable  cisterns  are  those  in  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  and  the  cistern  of  Helena  near  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  ;  there  are,  however,  a  vast  number  both  within  and  without 
the  city,  and  some  of  them  are  of  great  size. 

The  pools  or  reservoirs  of  which  remains  exist  at  present  are — the  Birket  Mamilla,  the 
Birket  es  Sultan,  the  Birket  Sitti  Mariam,  the  two  Pools  of  Siloam,  and  a  pool  near  the  Tombs 
of  the  Kings,  without  the  walls;  and  the  so-called  Pools  of  Hezekiah  and  Bethesda  within  the 
city.  There  is  also  undoubted  tradition  of  pools  near  the  Jaffa  Gate,  the  Gate  of  the  Chain, 
and  the  Church  of  St.  Anne  ;  these  are  now  concealed  by  rubbish.  The  Birket  Mamilla  collects 
the  surface  drainage  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Valley  of  Hinnom,  and  transmits  its  water  to 
the  Pool  of  Hezekiah  by  a  conduit  which  passes  under  the  city  wall  a  little  to  the  north  of  the 
Jaffa  Gate,  and  has  a  branch  running  down  to  the  cisterns  in  the  Citadel  (see  page  102).  The 
average  depth  of  the  pool  is  nineteen  feet ;  it  is  three  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  long,  and  two 
hundred  and  eight  feet  wide ;  the  estimated  capacity  is  eight  million  gallons,  but  there  is  a  large 
accumulation  of  rubbish  at  the  bottom,  and  it  now  holds  water  imperfectly.  The  pool  has  not  been 
well  placed  for  collecting  the  drainage,  as  that  from  the  western  slope  is  lost,  but  the  position 
was  necessary  to  obtain  a  level  high  enough  to  supply  the  Pool  of  Hezekiah  and  the  Citadel. 
A  hole  in  the  ground  below  the  lower  end  of  the  pool  gives  access  to  a  flight  of  steps  leading 
down  to  a  small  chamber,  where  the  conduit,  which  on  leaving  the  pool  is  twenty-one  inches 
square,  narrows  to  nine  inches,  so  as  to  allow  of  an  arrangement  for  regulating  the  flow  of 
water  into  the  city.  The  Birket  Mamilla  has  sometimes  been  identified  with  the  Upper  Pool 
of  Gihon,  but  it  is  more  probably  the  Serpent  Pool  mentioned  by  Josephus,  a  name  which 
may  have  had  its  origin  in  the  Dragon's  Well  of  Nehemiah,  which  seems  to  have  been 
situated  to  the  west  of  Jerusalem.  The  Birket  es  Sultan  (see  page  102)  lies  in  the  Valley  of 
Hinnom,  but  at  so  low  a  level  that  its  only  use  could  have  been  the  irrigation  of  gardens 
lower  down  the  valley.  The  pool  does  not  now  hold  water ;  it  is,  however,  of  considerable 
extent,  and  would  contain  about  nineteen  million  gallons.  The  reservoir  has  been  formed  by 
building  a  solid  dam  or  causeway  across  the  valley,  and  closing  the  upper  end  by  a  slight 
embankment ;  at  the  sides  the  rock  is  left  for  the  most  part  in  its  natural  state.  Immediately 


JERUSALEM. 


above  the  pool  the  aqueduct  from  Solomon's  Pools  crosses  the  valley  (see  page  io6),  and  a 
road,  which  may  have  existed  at  an  early  date,  passes  over  the  causeway.  The  Birket  es 
Sultan  was  repaired  by  Sultan  Suleiman,  hence  its  name,  but  it  appears  to  have  existed  at 
an  early  date,  and  was  sometimes  identified  with  the  Lower  Pool  of  Gihon  ;  during  the  Latin 
kingdom  of  Jerusalem  it  was  called  Germanus.  The  Birket  Sitti  Miriam  is  a  small  pool 
near  St.  Stephen's  Gate,  which  still  holds  water ;  it  receives  little  or  no  surface  drainage,  and 
must  always  have  been  supplied  by  the  conduit  of  which  the  mouth  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the 
north-east  corner  of  the  reservoir.  The  two  Pools  of  Siloam  (see  pages  77  and  79)  are 
situated  in  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  not  far  from  its  mouth.  The  upper  and  smaller  pool 
receives  its  supply  of  water  from  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin  by  means  of  the  remarkable 
rock-hewn  conduit  which  has  already  been  noticed  ;  the  water  runs  off  at  the  south-east 
corner,  and  after  having  been  used  by  the  washerwomen  of  the  city  passes  on  to  irrigate  the 
gardens  below.  From  the  centre  of  the  pool  rises  the  broken  shaft  of  a  column  ;  at  the 
south-west  corner  a  rude  flight  of  steps  leads  to  the  bottom  ;  at  one  place  there  are  some 
piers  rapidly  going  to  ruin  ;  and  all  round  the  pool  there  is  a  large  accumulation  of  rubbish. 
The  remains  which  are  seen  now  probably  date  from  the  twelfth  century ;  but  in  the  early 
part  of  the  seventh  century  there  was  a  round  basilica,  from  under  which  the  water  rose, 
with  two  marble  reservoirs,  and  enclosures  with  wooden  railings. 

The  largest  pool  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city  was  probably  that  which  lies  to  the 
left  of  the  main  road  which  leads  northward  from  Jerusalem,  a  little  beyond  the  Tombs  of 
the  Kings.  It  is  now  nearly  filled  with  soil  washed  down  by  the  winter  rains,  but  at  the 
upper  end  there  is  still  a  shallow  excavation  which  holds  water,  and  at  the  lower  end  the 
scarped  rock  is  visible.  The  pool  is  admirably  situated  for  collecting  the  surface  drainage  of 
the  upper  branches  of  the  Kedron  Valley,  but  all  attempts  to  discover  the  conduit  by  which 
it  transmitted  its  water  to  the  city  have  hitherto  been  unsuccessful. 

The  Pool  of  Hezekiah  (see  page  13),  within  the  city,  is  situated  close  to  Christian  Street; 
it  receives  its  principal  supply  of  water  from  the  Birket  Mamilla  without  the  walls,  and  it  is 
calculated  to  hold  about  four  million  gallons.  The  masonry  does  not  appear  to  be  very  old, 
and  but  a  small  portion  of  the  pool  has  been  formed  by  actual  excavation.  The  cement  is  bad 
and  out  of  repair,  and  the  bottom  is  covered  with  a  thick  deposit  of  vegetable  mould,  the 
accumulation  of  several  years.  When  the  pool  is  full  in  winter  no  inconvenience  arises,  but  in 
autumn,  when  the  water  gets  low,  exhalations  rise  up  which  have  a  bad  effect  on  the  health  of 
those  who  live  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  water  is  chiefly  used  in  the  Turkish  "  Bath  of  the 
Patriarch,"  whence  the  pool  derives  its  local  name,  "  Pool  of  the  Patriarch's  Bath  ; "  the 
Christian  name,  "  Pool  of  Hezekiah,"  comes  from  the  tradition  that  it  was  made  by  that  king, 
as  in  2  Kings  XX.  20  :  "  Hezekiah  made  a  pool  and  a  conduit  and  brought  water  into  the  city." 
There  is,  perhaps,  better  reason  for  identifying  the  pool  with  that  called  by  Josephus 
Amygdalon,  where  the  celebrated  tenth  legion  raised  a  bank  against  the  city  walls  during 
the  siege  by  Titus.    The  Pool  of  Bethesda,  or  Birket  Israil,  does  not  now  hold  water ;  it  is 


I  lO 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


filled  with  rubbish  to  a  height  of  thirty-eight  feet,  and  receives  the  drainage  of  the  houses 
in  the  vicinity  (see  page  66).     At  the  east  end  Captain  Warren  discovered  an  overflow 


ACELDAMA. 


arrangement  by  which  the  surplus  waters  could  be  discharged  into  the  Kedron  Valley.  The 
source  from  which  it  originally  derived  its  supply  of  water  is  not  known,  but  at  a  later  period 


SUMMIT  OF  THE  HILL  OF  EVIL  COUNSEL. 
This  weird-looking  solitary  tree  is  a  landmark  for  miles  around. 


it  appears  to  have  been  connected  with  the  aqueduct  which  brought  water  from  Solomon's 
Pools.    The  Birket  Israil  has  generally  been  called  the  Pool  of  Bethesda,  or  "  Sheep  Pool,"  by 


JERUSALEM. 


1 1 1 


pilgrims  and  others  who  have  identified  it  with  the  pool  mentioned  in  John  v.  2  :  "Now 
there  is  at  Jerusalem  by  the  sheep  market  a  pool,  which  is  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue 


THE  VALLEY  OF  HINNOM. 
Ancient  tombs  on  the  left  and  terraces  planted  with  olive-trees  on  the  right. 

Bethesda,  having  five  porches."  Two  arches  at  the 
west  end  of  the  pool  are  said  to  be  two  of  the  five 
porches.  In  the  time  of  the  Crusades  there  was  a 
well  or  pool  near  the  Church  of  St.  Anne,  over 
which  a  church  was  built ;  this  well  was  said  to  be 

the  place  where  the  angel  troubled  the  waters.  Eusebius  and  Jerome  say  that  the  Pool  of 
Bethesda  was  shown  at  the  double  pools,  one  of  which  was  supplied  by  the  periodical  rains, 


112 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


whilst  the  other  had  reddish  water,  "  as  they  say,  from  the  sacrifices ;  "  but  they  give  no 
indication  of  its  position.  The  Bourdeaux  pilgrim  says  that  the  double  pools  were  more 
within  the  city  than  the  two  large  pools  at  the  side  of  the  Temple,  and  that  the  water  was 
muddy  and  of  a  scarlet  colour.  This  discoloration  of  the  water  no  doubt  arose  from  the 
quantity  of  rich  red  loamy  earth  which  was  carried  into  the  pool  after  heavy  rain.  The 
actual  position  of  the  biblical  Bethesda  is  uncertain  ;  Dr.  Robinson  has  suggested  that  it  is 
identical  with  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  but  the  more  general  view  is  that  the  pool  was  to 
the  north  of  the  Temple,  either  in  the  position  modern  tradition  assigns  to  it  or  farther  to 
the  west,  where  the  souterrains  connected  with  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Zion  mark  the 
position  of  a  double  pool  in  the  old  ditch.  Near  the  Cotton  Gate  of  the  Haram  there  is  said 
to  have  been  a.  reservoir  some  years  ago,  and  there  was  another  close  to  the  Jaffa  Gate, 
which  was  called  the  Pool  or  Bath  of  Bathsheba  on  the  supposition  that  David  dwelt  in  the 
Tower  of  David  opposite. 

One  of  the  aqueducts  from  Solomon's  Pools  is  repaired  occasionally  and  then  delivers 
water  to  the  cisterns  of  the  Haram  esh  Sherif,  and  supplies  some  of  the  beautiful  fountains 
in  the  city ;  but  the  repairs  rarely  last  for  any  length  of  time,  and  the  aqueducts  may  be 
considered  as  forming  part  of  the  ancient  rather  than. of  the  modern  system  of  water  supply. 
The  ancient  supply  was  partly  derived  from  the  same  sources  as  the  modern  one,  but  the 
inhabitants  appear  to  have  depended  chiefly  on  water  brought  from  a  distance  by  aqueducts 
and  stored  in  pools  and  cisterns. 

Of  the  springs,  wells,  pools,  &c.,  mentioned  in  the  Bible  and  Josephus,  Enrogel  may 
almost  certainly  be  identified  with  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  and  the  same  spring  is 
probably  Gihon  in  the  valley  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  14),  as  vacJial,  the  word  rendered  valley,  is 
always  employed  for  the  Valley  of  the  Kedron  ;  the  water  running  from  the  Fountain  may 
also  be  identified  with  the  waters  of  Shiloah  (Isaiah  viii.  6).  So,  too,  the  Fountain  of  Siloam 
of  Josephus  and  the  Pool  of  Siloam  of  the  New  Testament  may  be  placed  at  the  modern  Pool 
of  Siloam,  which  is  fed  from  the  Virgin's  Fountain.  There  is,  however,  a  passage  in  the 
Mishna  which  describes  Siloam  as  being  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  and  Dr.  Lightfoot  asserts 
that  there  is  a  difference  in  the  Hebrew  between  the  Siloah  of  Nehemiah  and  the  Shiloah  of 
Isaiah  ;  a  distinction  which  seems,  on  one  occasion  at  least,  to  be  made  by  Josephus.  The 
Septuagint,  too,  whilst  rendering  the  latter  Siloam,  translates  the  former  as  "  the  Pool  of  the 
Sheep-skins."  From  this  it  may  almost  be  inferred  that  there  was  another  pool  called  Siloah 
higher  up  the  Tyropoeon  Valley,  a  position  which  would  be  more  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions  required  by  the  description  of  the  rebuilding  and  dedication  of  the  walls  under 
Nehemiah.  Gihon  is  mentioned  in  two  other  passages  in  the  Bible  :  in  i  Kings  i.  33,  Solomon 
is  said  to  have  been  anointed  at  Gihon  ;  and  in  2  Chron.  xxxii.  30,  Hezekiah  is  described  as 
having  stopped  the  upper  source  of  Gihon,  and  as  having  brought  the  waters  straight  down  to 
the  west  side  of  the  city  of  David.  The  Targum  of  Jonathan,  and  the  Syriac  and  Arabic 
versions,  have  Shiloha  for  Gihon  in  Kings,  whilst  in  Chronicles  they  agree  with  the  Hebrew 


JERUSALEM. 


text  in  having  Gihon.  Josephus,  however,  states  that  David  ordered  Zadok  and  Benaiah  to 
carry  Solomon  "  out  of  the  city  to  the  fountain  called  Gihon  and  to  anoint  him  there."  The 
spring  stopped  by  Hezekiah  appears  to  have  been  some  distance  up  the  Tyropoeon  Valley. 
Its  position  has  not  yet  been  discovered,  but  the  rock-hewn  conduit  which  has  been  found 
running  along  the  bed  of  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  is  believed  to  be  the  work  of  Hezekiah,  and 
the  water  which  sometimes  finds  its  way  through  it  may  come  from  the  spring. 

No  well  has  yet  been  discovered  at  Jerusalem  except  Bir  Eyub  (Job's  Well),  but  others 
may  possibly  exist  beneath  the  rubbish.  Close  to  Bir  Eyub  there  is  a  remarkable  work  which 
must  have  involved  a  great  expenditure  of  time  and  labour.  It  consists  of  a  drift  or  tunnel 
some  six  feet  high  and  from  two  to  three  feet  wide,  cut  in  the  solid  rock.  The  tunnel  is  more 
than  eighteen  hundred  feet  long,  and  runs  beneath  the  western  side  of  the  bed  of  the  valley 
at  a  depth  of  from  seventy  to  ninety  feet  from  the  surface.  It  is  reached  at  certain  intervals 
by  flights  of  rock-hewn  steps.  The  object  of  this  tunnel  seems  to  have  been  the  collection 
of  the  water  running-  in  between  the  beds  of  limestone,  and  it  is  interestinor  to  find  that  a 
work  of  such  magnitude  was  considered  necessary  at  a  level  so  much  lower  than  that  of  the 
city.  It  clearly  shows  that  there  must  always  have  been  some  difficulty  in  providing 
Jerusalem  with  water. 

The  most  important  system  of  supply  was,  however,  that  by  which  water  was  brought 
into  the  city  from  the  south  by  aqueducts.  The  supply  was  derived  from  three  sources,  and 
the  conduits  were  apparently  constructed  at  different  periods.  They  were  of  considerable 
extent,  and  the  remains  exhibit  a  degree  of  engineering  skill  which  could  not  well  be 
surpassed  at  the  present  day.  The  first  works,  and  perhaps  the  most  ancient,  are  those 
connected  with  the  Pools  of  Solomon.  These  pools,  three  in  number,  are  cleverly  and  well 
constructed  in  the  bed  of  a  valley  not  far  from  Bethlehem,  and  they  are  so  situated  that  the 
water  from  each  of  the  upper  pools  can  be  run  off  into  the  one  immediately  below  it  as  the 
supply  is  drawn  upon. 

The  water  was  first  carried  to  Bethlehem,  and,  passing  under  that  town  through  a  tunnel, 
was  finally  delivered  in  the  Temple  area  at  Jerusalem.  From  the  pools  to  Bethlehem  the 
fall  of  the  conduit  is  about  one  in  eight  hundred,  but  from  Bethlehem  to  Jerusalem  it  is  only 
one  in  five  thousand  two  hundred.  The  total  length  is  seventy  thousand  feet,  and  the  total 
fall  thirty-two  feet,  which  gives  a  mean  fall  of  less  than  two  and  a  half  feet  per  mile.  This 
conduit,  to  which  the  name  "  low-level  aqueduct  "  has  been  given,  crosses  the  Valley  of 
Hinnom  a  little  above  the  Birket  es  Sultan  (see  page  io6)  on  several  pointed  arches,  which 
just  show  their  heads  above  ground,  and,  winding  round  the  southern  slope  of  the  modern 
Sion,  enters  the  city  near  the  Jewish  almshouses.  It  then  passes  along  the  eastern  side  of 
the  same  hill,  partly  supported  by  masonry  and  partly  through  a  tunnel,  until,  taking  a  sudden 
turn  eastward,  it  runs  over  the  causeway  and  Wilson's  Arch,  and  enters  the  Haram  esh  Sherif 
at  the  Gate  of  the  Chain.  The  numerous  Saracenic  fountains  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city 
were  supplied  by  pipes  branching  off  from  the  main  aqueduct.  The  channels  and  conduits  in 
16 


114 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


the  Haram  esh  Sherif  are  in  such  a  bad  state  of  repair  and  so  choked  with  rubbish  that  it 
is  impossible  to  trace  them  without  excavation,  but  sufficient  is  known  of  them  to  show  that 
there  was  at  one  time  an  elaborate  system  of  waterworks,  which  provided  for  the  delivery 
and  overflow  of  the  water  brought  by  the  low-level  aqueduct.  The  waste  overflow  appears  to 
have  passed  through  one  of  the  passages  discovered  by  Mons.  de  Saulcy  beneath  the  Triple 


CAVES  IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  HLNNOM,  EAST  OF  ACELDAMA, 


interesting,  on  account  of  the  great  skill  shown 
called  the  "  high-level  aqueduct,"  from  the  fact 
more  than  one  hundred  feet  above  that  of  the 
supply  the  western  hill  of  Jerusalem,    In  a 


Gate  into  the  main  drain  of  the  eastern  hill, 
which  discharged  itself  into  the  Kedron 
Valley  a  little  below  the  Fountain  of  the 
Virgin,  As  a  large  supply  of  water  must 
have  been  necessary  immediately  upon  the 
institution  of  the  Temple  services,  and  as 
there  was  not  sufficient  at  Jerusalem  itself, 
there  seems  no  reason  for  doubting  the 
current  tradition  that  this  aqueduct,  and 
perhaps  one  or  more  of  the  pools,  were  the 
work  of  Solomon, 

The  works  connected  with  the  second 
source  of  water  supply  are,  perhaps,  the  most 
in  their  construction.  The  conduit  has  been 
that  it  must  have  delivered  water  at  a  level 
low-level  aqueduct,  and  sufficiently  high  to 
valley  called  Wady  Byar,  to  the  south  of 


JERUSALEM. 


Solomon's  Pools,  there  is  a  place  known  as  the  "  Well  of  the  Steps,"  where  a  flight  of  steps 
gives  access  to  a  subterranean  chamber  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
valley.  From  this  chamber  a  well-constructed  channel  cut  in  the  rock,  and  varying  from  five 
to  twenty-five  feet  in  height,  leads  up  the  valley  for  some  distance  until  it  terminates  in  a 
natural  cleft  of  the  rock,    A  similar  channel  follows  the  bed  of  the  valley  downwards  for 


TOPHET,  THE  LOWER  PORTION  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  HINNOM. 
The  village  of  Silwan  on  the  right,  and  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Haram  wall  on  the  left. 


more  than  four  miles,  until  it  issues  from  the  ground  near  a  solid  dam  of  masonry  which 
extends  right  across  the  valley.  This  great  tunnel,  to  facilitate  the  construction  of  which 
several  shafts  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  deep  were  sunk  in  the  bed  of  the  valley,  was  intended 
to  catch  the  flood  water  of  the  valley,  the  dam  being  probably  made  to  retain  the  water  or 
prevent  its  running  off  before  it  had  filtered  down  to  the  channel.    There  are  a  few  small 


ii6 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


springs  in  tlie  side  valleys  which  contributed  to  the  supply,  but  the  principal  source  was  the 
flood  water.  This  mode  of  collecting  water  is  very  common  in  Persia  and  Afghanistan,  where 
the  underground  conduit  is  called  a  kariz  ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  another  instance  could 
be  found  of  a  tunnel  nearly  five  miles  long  cut  in  hard  limestone.  About  six  hundred  yards 
below  the  dam  the  conduit  enters  another  tunnel,  seventeen  hundred  feet  long,  which  at  one 
point  is  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Eleven  shafts  were 
sunk  to  aid  the  work  of  excavation,  and  the  passage  is  in  places  fourteen  feet  high.  After 
passing  through  the  tunnel  the  conduit  winds  round  the  hill  to  the  valley  in  which  the  Pools  of 
Solomon  lie.  It  then  crosses  that  valley  above  the  upper  pool  in  an  underground  channel 
which  tapped  the  Sealed  Fountain,  and  formerly  brought  it,  with  its  own  waters,  to  the  high 
level  in  Jerusalem.  After  leaving  the  pools  the  aqueduct  at  first  runs  along  the  side  of  the 
Valley  of  Urtas,  but  at  a  point  not  far  from  Bethlehem  it  enters  a  tank,  and  thence,  when 
perfect,  carried  the  water  over  the  valley  near  Rachel's  Tomb  by  means  of  an  inverted 
syphon.  This  syphon  was  about  two  miles  long,  and  consisted  of  perforated  blocks  of  stone 
set  in  a  mass  of  rubble  masonry  some  three  feet  thick  all  round.  The  tube  is  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter,  and  the  joints,  which  appear  to  have  been  ground  or  turned,  are  put  together  with 
an  extremely  hard  cement.  The  whole  work  is  a  remarkable  specimen  of  ancient  engineering 
skill,  and  the  labour  bestowed  on  the  details  excites  the  admiration  of  all  travellers.  This 
portion  is  known  amongst  the  native  peasantry  as  the  "  Aqueduct  of  the  Unbelievers."  On 
approaching  Jerusalem  all  trace  of  the  conduit  is  lost.  It  has  evidently  been  destroyed 
during  one  of  the  many  sieges,  and  the  point  at  which  it  entered  the  city  is  still  uncertain. 
The  most  interesting  feature,  however,  is  that  the  supply  was  brought  to  Jerusalem  at  an 
elevation  of  twenty  feet  over  the  sill  of  the  Jaffa  Gate,  and  that  the  conduit  would  have  been 
able  to  deliver  water  to  the  highest  part  of  the  city,  and  so  provide  an  adequate  supply  for 
the  whole  population.  Some  persons  have  supposed  that  the  high-level  aqueduct  supplied  the 
Birket  Mamilla  and  thence  the  Citadel  ;  but  it  seems  not  improbable  that  the  conduit  wound 
round  the  head  of  the  Valley  of  Hinnom  and  entered  the  city  at  the  north-west  angle,  where 
the  Tower  Psephinus  stood.  This  view  is  supported  by  the  discovery  some  years  ago  of  a 
conduit  within  the  Russian  consular  enclosure,  which  was  afterwards  found  in  some  ground 
belonging  to  M.  Bergheim  without  the  city,  and  beneath  the  house  of  the  Latin  Patriarch 
within  the  walls.  The  direction  of  this  conduit  was  towards  the  tower  which  most  nearly 
agrees  with  the  Hippicus  of  Josephus,  that  at  the  Jaffa  Gate;  and  thence  the  water  was  in 
all  probability  carried  onward  to  the  Temple  enclosure  by  the  conduit  which  was  discovered 
far  below  the  level  of  the  present  surface  when  the  English  church  and  vicarage  were  built. 
The  date  of  the  high-level  aqueduct  has  been  the  subject  of  some  discussion,  without  any  very 
satisfactory  result.  There  is,  however,  a  passage  in  Josephus  which  seems  to  throw  some 
light  on  the  question.  In  describing  Herod's  Palace,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  present 
Citadel,  the  historian  states  that  "  there  were,  moreover,  several  groves  of  trees  and  long 
walks  through  them,  with  deep  canals  and  cisterns,  that  in  several  parts  were  filled  with  brazen 


JERUSALEM. 


I 


JERUSALEM  FROM  THE  SOUTH. 

Showing  the  position  of  Bir  Eyiib  (Job's  Well)  just  below  the  junction  of  the  Kedron  and 
Hinnom  Valleys. 

Statues,  through  which  the  water  ran  out."    This  seems  to  imply 
the  constant  presence  of  running  water ;  and  as  the  palace  with  its  ^ 
gardens  was  distinctly  the  work  of  Herod  the  Great,  it  will  perhaps 
not  be  very  wrong  to  ascribe  the  construction  of  the  aqueduct,  with  its  remark- 
able syphon,  to  that  monarch.    The  only  known  instance  of  a  similar  syphon  is 
at  Patara,  in  Asia  Minor,  but  it  does  not  show  such  high  constructive  skill  as  that  at  Jerusalem 


ii8 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


The  third  source  of  supply  was  derived  from  several  springs  in  a  valley,  Wady  Arub,  to 
the  left  of  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Hebron.  One  of  the  springs  is  estimated  to  yield  as 
much  as  one  hundred  thousand  gallons  a  day. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Jerusalem  was  during  the  brighter  period  of  its  history  well 
supplied  with  water ;  and  it  may  be  inferred,  from  the  numerous  cisterns  and  conduits  that 
have  been  found,  that  the  supply  was  distributed  throughout  all  quarters  of  the  city.  An 
English  lady  known  throughout  the  world  for  her  many  kind  actions,  the  Baroness  Burdett 
Coutts,  has  on  more  than  one  occasion  expressed  a  wish  to  construct  at  her  own  cost  works 
which  would  give  to  every  one  in  Jerusalem  the  most  priceless  of  all  gifts  in  the  East,  good 
water ;  but  hitherto  all  efforts  to  overcome  the  difficulties  thrown  in  the  way  by  the  local 
government  have  been  unavailing. 

The  population  of  Jerusalem  may  be  estimated  at  about  twenty-one  thousand,  of  which 
seven  thousand  are  Moslems,  nine  thousand  Jews,  and  five  thousand  Christians.  The  Moslems 
belong  for  the  most  part  to  the  same  race  as  the  peasantry  of  Palestine,  representatives  it  may 
be,  though  with  a  large  intermixture  of  foreign  blood,  of  the  Jebusite  that  dwelt  in  the  land. 
The  higher  classes,  as  a  rule,  pass  most  of  their  time  in  the  bath,  the  mosque,  or  the  bazaar, 
smoking,  praying,  or  gossiping.  The  Turks,  who  for  the  most  part  belong  to  the  official 
class,  are  very  inferior  to  the  Arabs  in  education  and  capacity ;  whilst  the  fellahin  are  chiefly 
remarkable  for  their  fine  physique,  and  that  keenness  in  barter  which  seems  to  distinguish  the 
descendants  of  the  ancient  races  that  peopled  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 

The  Jews  are  divided  into  three  principal  divisions,  the  Sephardim,  the  Ashkenazim,  and 
the  Karaim.  Nothing  can  be  more  striking  than  the  marked  difference  in  appearance  and 
costume  between  the  Sephardim  and  Ashkenazim.  The  former  are  far  superior  in  culture 
and  manners  ;  they  have  generally  dark  complexions,  black  hair,  and  regular  features ;  they 
are  fairly  industrious  and  honest ;  they  dress  in  Oriental  costume,  and  are  not  wanting  in  a 
certain  dignity.  The  Ashkenazim,  on  the  other  hand,  have  pale  complexions  and  flaxen  hair, 
from  which  two  long  love-locks  hang  down,  one  on  either  side  of  the  face ;  and  they  always 
wear  the  long  Eastern  robe  (caftan),  with  a  hat  of  felt  or  fur  (see  pages  40  and  82).  The 
Sephardim  speak  Spanish,  and  trace  their  descent  from  the  Jews  who  were  driven  from 
Spain  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century;  hence  their  name 
from  Sepharad,  the  Spain  of  the  Rabbins.  They  are  Ottoman  subjects,  and  their  chief 
rabbi,  who  bears  the  title  of  Hakim  Bashi,  is  a  recognised  official  and  has  a  certain  degree 
of  civil  authority.  The  Sephardim  have  a  curious  tradition  that  their  ancestors  were  settled 
in  Spain  before  the  date  of  the  Crucifixion,  and  they  thus  claim  to  be  exempt  from  the 
consequences  of  the  outcry  of  the  Jews,  "  His  blood  be  upon  us  and  our  children."  The 
Ashkenazim  are  chiefly  of  Polish  origin,  they  or  their  immediate  ancestors  having  come  from 
German,  Austrian,  or  Russian  Poland.  They  are  subdivided  into  Peroshim  (Pharisees)  and 
Khasidim  (Cabalists).  The  former  accept  the  Talmud,  whilst  the  latter  believe  also  in  oral 
tradition  and  the  transmigration  of  souls,  study  the  Cabala,  and  in  their  religious  worship 


JERUSALEM. 


119 


sometimes  run  into  wild  excess.  The  Karaim  or  Karaites,  who  do  not  acknowledge  the 
authority  of  the  Talmud,  form  a  small  community  apart  from  the  other  sects. 

Much  has  been  done  during  the  last  twenty  years  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
Jews  at  Jerusalem  by  Sir  Moses  Montefiore,  Baron  Rothschild,  and  other  wealthy  European 
Jews,  and  every  year  sums  of  money  are  sent  for  distribution  amongst  the  poor. 

The  Christians  are  divided  into  a  number  of  sects,  of  which  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church 
is  the  most  influential.  The  Greek  community  consists  of  monks,  nuns,  shopkeepers,  &c.,  very 
few  of  whom  are  natives  of  the  country.  The  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  who  has  several  sees  in 
Palestine  subject  to  him,  resides  in  the  great  monastery  of  St.  Helena  and  Constantine. 

The  Armenians  are  few  in  number,  but  they  form  a  thriving  community,  and  occupy  one 
of  the  pleasantest  quarters  of  Jerusalem  (see  page  102).  The  Armenian  Monastery,  with  its 
church  dedicated  to  St.  James,  is  the  largest  and  richest  in  the  city.  The  spiritual  head  of  the 
Armenians  is  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  a  well-educated  man,  who  resides  in  the  monastery. 

The  Georgians  are  now  an  insignificant  body,  but  they  had  at  one  time  eleven  churches 
and  monasteries  in  the  Holy  City,  and  even  as  late  as  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth 
century  had  many  rights  and  privileges  not  accorded  to  other  Christians.  All  that  now 
remains  to  them  is  the  Convent  of  the  Cross,  about  half  an  hour's  ride  from  Jerusalem. 

The  Syrians  or  Jacobites,  so  called  from  Jacobus  Baradaeus,  a  heretical  monk  who  lived 
in  the  sixth  century,  are  few  in  number,  and  have  as  their  sole  possession  in  Jerusalem  the 
little  monastery  known  as  the  House  of  St.  Mark. 

The  Copts  have  a  large  monastery  close  to  the  eastern  end  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  which  was  repaired  a  few  years  ago  with  funds  provided  by  wealthy  Copts  in 
Egypt ;  they  have  also  a  monastery  near  the  Pool  of  Hezekiah. 

The  Abyssinians  occupy  a  few  cells  in  the  ruins  of  a  monastery  above  the  Chapel  of 
Helena.  They  are  extremely  poor,  and  are  said  to  have  had  much  of  their  revenue  and  some 
of  their  buildings  taken  from  them  by  their  powerful  neighbours  the  Copts. 

The  Latins  or  Roman  Catholics  are  the  most  numerous  of  the  Western  Christians.  They 
possess  the  well-known  Monastery  of  St.  Salvator,  the  Church  of  the  Scourging  in  the  Via 
Dolorosa,  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Sion,  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  other  places. 
There  is  an  excellent  printing-press  attached  to  the  monastery,  schools  for  both  sexes,  an 
industrial  school,  and  a  hospital.  The  monastery  and  other  establishments  are  in  the  hands  of 
the  Franciscan  monks,  most  of  whom  are  Spaniards  or  Italians.  Some  of  the  monks  are 
men  of  education  and  culture,  and  the  printing-press  has  produced  useful  works  in  different 
languages.  In  1847  Latin  patriarchate,  which  had  been  in  abeyance  since  the  latter  part 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  was  revived,  and  Monsignor  Valerga,  who  died  in  1873,  was  appointed 
Patriarch.    The  Greek  Catholic  and  Armenian  Catholic  Churches  are  affiliated  to  the  Latin. 

The  Protestant  community,  though  small,  is  active  in  good  works,  and  there  are  several 
excellent  Protestant  establishments  in  the  city  and  its  vicinity.  The  schools  especially  have 
had  a  marked  effect,  not  only  in  supplying  a  good  education  themselves,  but  in  inciting  other 


1 20 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


communities  to  improve  their  own  schools,  or  to  found  schools  when  they  had  none.  There 
are  boys'  and  girls'  schools  for  Jews,  proselytes,  and  native  Arabs,  an  industrial  school  for 
Jews,  a  church  and  parsonage,  a  hospital,  a  German  girls'  orphanage,  a  German  boys' 
orphanage,  a  lepers'  hospital,  the  hospital  of  the  Kaiserswerth  Deaconesses,  a  German  Hospice 
of  St.  John,  &c.  The  Protestant  Bishop,  under  an  agreement  between  England  and  Prussia, 
is  nominated  alternately  by  either  power ;  the  first  Bishop,  Dr.  Alexander,  was  nominated 


];iK  1':yub— joii's  well. 


by  England,  the  second,  Dr.  Gobat,  by  Prussia,  and  the  present  Bishop,  Dr.  Barclay,  by 
England. 

The  full  effect  of  the  efforts  which  have  been  made  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
people  of  Jerusalem  has,  perhaps,  hardly  yet  been  felt,  but  gradually  and  surely  education, 
with  all  its  civilising  influences,  is  forcing  its  way  amongst  all  classes,  and  a  time  m.ay  be  looked 
forward  to,  in  the  not  far  distant  future,  when  the  good  seed  sown  in  the  Holy  City  will  bear 
fruit  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Holy  Land. 


BETHLEHEM. 


grave."  The  pillar  has  long  since  perished,  though  it  existed  there  in  the  time  of  Moses, 
but  other  structures  have  preserved  the  memory  of  the  spot.  The  present  tomb,  a  Saracenic 
building,  subsequent  certainly  to  the  Crusading  times,  is  neither  rich  nor  imposing,  but  no 
sumptuous  mausoleum  is  needed  to  keep  in  memory  the  grave  of  Rachel — beautiful,  beloved, 
untimely  taken  away.  The  Jews,  who  never  accept  a  Christian  or  Moslem  tradition,  still  pay 
visits  of  sympathy  to  this  spot,  which,  as  in  the  case  of  many  other  Old  Testament  worthies, 
the  Moslem  rulers  open  to  Jew  and  Christian  alike.  It  is  mentioned  by  Jerome  and  in  the 
Crusading  chronicles,  and  was  visited  by  Maundrell  two  hundred  years  ago.  We  may  well 
recall  how  the  prophet  represents  Rachel  sitting  weeping  for  her  children  as  the  long  train  of 
captive  exiles  passed  from  the  south  on  their  way  to  Babylon,  and  note  how  the  tomb  is  close 
to  the  roadside ;  and  then  as  we  see  Bethlehem  not  a  mile  distant  we  understand  how  aptly 
the  Evangelist  transfers  the  figure  to  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents  by  Herod. 

Crossing  the  shallow  valley  from  Rachel's  Tomb  we  rapidly  wind  up  towards  Bethlehem. 
There  are  various  soil-covered  heaps,  the  remains  of  ancient  villages,  here  and  there,  and  the 
modern  guide  will  readily  point  out  Ramah  ;  but -for  this  identification  there  is  no  good 
warranty,  and  the  name  Ramah,  or  some  equivalent,  is  common  all  over  the  country  applied 
to  any  ruin  on  a  hill. 

A  steep  ascent  leads  up  to  Beit-Lahm,  "  the  house  of  flesh,"  a  phonetic  accommodation 
of  the  ancient  name  Bethlehem,  "the  house  of  bread."  The  hillsides  are  irregularly  scarped 
with  terraces  sweeping  round  the  eastern  shoulder,  on  which  are  many  gnarled  and  silver-grey 
olive-trees,  while  many  a  fig-tree  occupies  any  spare  corner,  and  vines  are  trained  over  the 
irreofular  walls  of  the  terraces.  Below  them  is  a  fine  velvet  turf,  on  which  tethered  oroats  are 
feeding.  All  bespeaks  a  care  and  cultivation  uncommon  in  Palestine,  for  the  inhabitants  of 
the  little  town  above  are  Christians,  and  till  the  soil  with  perseverance  and  patience  unknown 
to  their  Moslem  neighbours.  The  loosened  earth  under  the  olive-trees  is  carpeted  in  spring 
with  brilliantly  coloured  annuals  and  bulbs,  bewildering  in  their  variety  and  dazzling  in  their 
brightness.  Most  conspicuous  is  the  gorgeous  scarlet  anemone,  pimpernels  yellow  and  blue, 
hyacinths,  and  especially  a  lovely  pink  campion. 

The  town  itself,  no  longer  walled,  is  still  confined  within  its  ancient  limits.  There  are  no 
suburbs,  and  in  fact,  planted  on  the  crest  of  a  narrow  spur  that  projects  eastward  from  the 
central  ridge  and  then  abruptly  breaks  off,  it  has  no  room  to  expand.  The  white  chalky 
ridge  crowned  with  the  long  narrow  street,  with  various  alleys  on  either  side  of  it,  presents  us 
with  one  of  the  few  remaining  specimens  of  an  old  Jewish  city,  for,  excepting  in  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  wall,  it  is  probably  unchanged  in  architecture  and  arrangement  from  what  it 
was  in  the  days  of  David. 

We  can  ascend  to  the  roof  of  one  of  the  houses  in  the  main  street,  for  the  owner  will 
give  the  Western  traveller  a  hearty  welcome,  and  here  we  can  take  in  at  a  glance  the  chief 
features  of  the  landscape.  Looking  eastward,  the  great  pile  of  buildings,  without  any  definite 
architectural  features  outside,  is  the  famous  shrine  of  the  Church  of  the  Nativity,  and  the 


124 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


three  convents — Latin,  Greek,  and  Armenian — which  surround  it.  The  view  is  girt  with 
Bible  scenes.  We  see  beyond  the  convents  the  bare  wilderness  of  Judah  creeping  up  almost 
to  the  very  foot  of  the  ridge.  But  a  belt  of  rich  green  intervenes,  the  cornfields  of  Bethlehem. 
Here,  probably,  Ruth  gleaned  in  the  fields  of  her  husband's  kinsman.  A  little  knoll  of  olive- 
trees  surrounding  a  group  of  ruins  marks  the  traditional  site  of  the  angels'  appearance  to  the 
shepherds,  Migdol  Eder,  "  the  tower  of  the  flock."  But  the  place  where  the  first  "Gloria  in 
excelsis  "  was  sung  is  probably  farther  east,  where  the  bare  hills  of  the  wilderness  begin,  and 
a  large  tract  is  claimed  by  the  Bethlehemites  as  a  common  pasturage.  Here  the  sheep  would 
be  too  far  off  to  be  led  into  the  town  at  night ;  and  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  wild  beasts 
from  the  eastern  ravines,  where  the  wolf  and  the  jackal  still  prowl,  and  where  of  old  the  yet 
more  formidable  lion  and  bear  had  their  covert,  they  needed  the  shepherds'  watchful  care 


ll';\V  OF  THI-:  SHKPHl':i<I)S'  FIRLD,  FROM  BETHLEHEl 
Looking  towards  the  east,  the  mountains  of  Moab  in  the  distance. 


during  the  winter  and  spring  months,  when  alone  pasturage  is  to  be  found  on  these  bleak 
uplands. 

Looking  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  Shepherds'  Tower  we  see  the  Well  of  David,  a  few 
minutes'  walk  from  the  town — not  a  spring,  but  a  large,  deep,  rock-hewn  cistern  into  which  the 
water  percolates  (see  page  134).  There  are  narrow  openings  through  which  the  supply  can  be 
reached.  When  David  exclaimed,  "  O  that  one  would  give  me  to  drink  of  the  water  of 
the  well  of  Bethlehem  that  is  at  the  gate,"  he  was  hiding  in  the  Cave  of  Adullam.  We  can 
picture  how,  while  the  Philistines  had  but  a  small  garrison  in  the  town  itself,  and  their  main 
camp  outside  to  the  north,  David's  men  broke  through  the  garrison  and  drew  water  from  the 
well  without  entering  the  Philistines'  camp.  All  these  and  many  another  event  in  the  story  of 
the  shepherd-king  pale  before  the  event  which  the  pile  of  masonry  in  front  of  us  records — the 
Saviour's  birth.  If  it  be  not  the  exact  spot,  the  error  cannot  be  one  of  many  hundred  yards. 
The  Church  of  the  Nativity  is  supposed  to  cover  the  site  of  the  inn  or  caravanserai  in  which 
our  Lord  was  born.    The  Chapel  of  the  Manger  appears  to  have  been  a  rude  grotto  hewn  out 


BETHLEHEM. 


of  the  side  of  the  rock,  and  may  once  have  been  connected  with  a  dwelHng-house  or  a  stable, 
or  had  some  access  for  cattle,  though  the  whole  site  has  been  so  altered  in  shape  by  building 
that  it  is  difficult  to  form  any  decided  opinion.  Very  often  in  the  ruined  cities  of  the  hill 
country  we  find  several  rooms  hewn  out  of  the  side  of  the  hill,  and  a  large  open  cavern 
adjoining,  evidently  intended  for  the  cattle.     In  some,  as  at  Tekoa,  and  across  Jordan,  near 


IN  THE  SHEPHERDS'  FIELD,  BETHLEHEM. 
A  shepherd  watching  a  flock  of  the  long-eared  and  long-tailed  sheep  common  in  Palestine. 


Arak  el  Emir,  the  mangers  still  existing  leave  no  doubt  as  to  their  use.  The  caravanserai 
which  may  have  stood  here  was  probably  the  very  one  founded  by  Chimham,  son  of  Barzillai 
(Jer.  xli.  17).  It  is  pleasant  to  believe,  when  we  reasonably  may,  in  the  identity  of  traditional 
sites,  and  for  this  one  much  may  be  said.  It  is  at  least  far  older  than  the  time  of  Constantine, 
which  cannot  be  affirmed  of  many  of  the  holy  sites.  So  far  back  as  the  days  of  Justin  Martyr, 
in  the  earlier  part  of  the  second  century,  the  place  of  our  Lord's  birth  was  pointed  out  in 


126 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


"  a  certain  cave  very  close  to  the  village  ;  "  and  Constantine  lost  no  time  in  destroying  an 
idolatrous  grove  and  shrine  to  Adonis,  which  Hadrian  had  impiously  fixed  here  to  pollute  the 
spot.  Under  the  direction  of  Helena  a  splendid  basilica  or  Christian  church  was  erected. 
This  still  remains,  having  escaped  destruction  during  the  many  convulsions  which  have 


RACHEL'S  TOMB. 
The  terraced  hills  of  Beit  Jala,  the  ancient  Giloh,  in  the  background. 

ravaged  the  country  for  centuries.  It  has  been  added  to,  slightly  altered,  or,  as  modern 
architects  would  term  it,  "restored"  occasionally,  notably  by  the  Emperor  Justinian,  but  in  its 
main  features  it  is  unchanged,  the  oldest  existing  Christian  church  not  only  in  Palestine,  but  in 
the  world.    Justinian  may  have  added  to  the  central  nave  and  its  four  side  aisles.    The  three 


BETHLEHEM. 


127 


convents  gradually  rose  as  accretions  after  the  time  of  Jerome. 
Comnenus,  about  a.d.  1160,  covered  the  walls  with 
the  glass  Byzantine  mosaics,  a  large  portion  of  which, 
though  sadly  mutilated,  still  remain  ;  but  the  central 
basilica  (as  shown  in  the  steel  plate),  with  its  noble 
monolith  shafts  of  red  and  white  marble,  and  the 
Corinthian  capitals  of  a  late  style,  with  the  cross 
sculptured  on  them,  are  agreed  by  the  best  ar- 
chitectural   authorities    to  be 
veritable  Constantinian  work. 
The  plan  of  the  building  is 
exactly  the  same  as  that  which 


The  Emperor  Manuel 


:rnal  stairway  ok  a  housk  at  bethlehem. 

Two  women  grinding  corn  on  the  stairs. 


Eusebius  gives  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem 
as  erected  by  Constan- 
tine.    We  have  been 
struck,  when    examining   the  numberless 
ruined  churches  of  the  plains  of  Moab  and 
Gilead,  by  the  miniature  resemblance  which 
most  of  them  bear  in  design  to  this,  point- 
ing pretty  clearly  to  their  date.    There  is 
an  outer  court  or  western  porch,  now  much 
dilapidated,  then  the  wide  nave  with  two 
rows  of  eleven  columns  each  on  either  side, 
forming  four  aisles,  and  a  shallow  chancel 
of  three  apses.     The    double  aisles  and 


128 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


triple  apse  are  frequently  seen  east  of  Jordan,  as  in  the  church  on  Mount  Nebo,  and  in 
those  of  Ziza.    Beneath  the  central  apse  is  the  Grotto  of  the  Nativity. 

The  church  escaped  destruction  when  the  Caliph  Hakim  laid  waste  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  and  all  the  other  sacred  sites.  It  was  protected  by  special  efforts  of  the 
Crusaders  in  the  First  Crusade,  in  a.d.  1099,  and  again,  in  the  Sixth  Crusade,  Frederick  H. 
succeeded  in  preserving  it;  and  within  its  walls  Baldwin  I.,  King  of  Jerusalem,  was  crowned. 
We  are  told  that  Baldwin  refused  to  be  crowned  with  a  circlet  of  gold  in  the  city  where  our 
Lord  had  worn  His  crown  of  thorns,  and  therefore  selected  Bethlehem  as  a  holy  site,  but 


CHAPEL  OV  THE  NATIVITY,  IN  THE  CRYPT  OE  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY,  BETHLEHEM. 
The  star  within  the  grotto  on  the  left  marks  "  the  Place  of  the  Nativity  ;"  on  the  right  is  the  Altar  of  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi. 


out  of  view  from  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  Christ's  sufferings.  His  predecessor  Godfrey,  the 
first  king,  in  the  like  spirit,  had  refused  to  assume  the  crown  at  all  within  the  Holy  City, 
and  declined  any  higher  title  than  Baron  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  But  the  English  visitor 
will  not  forget  to  notice  its  roof,  no  longer  of  cedar  of  Lebanon,  but  actually  of  English 
oak — huge  beams  provided  by  King  Edward  IV.,  a.d.  1482,  in  conjunction  with  Philip 
of  Burgundy — and  once  covered  with  English  lead,  which  the  Moslems  have  stripped 
to  provide  themselves  with  ammunition.  The  roof  is  framed  like  one  of  a  little  earher 
period  which  still  exists  intact  on  the  dormitory  of  the  Benedictine  Priory  of  Durham,  now 


BETHLEHEM. 


129 


the  Chapter  Library.  Two  winding  sets  of  stone  steps  on  the  north  and  south  lead  us  down 
to  the  Chapel  of  the  Nativity  below.  After  passing  several  rock-hewn  chambers  we  reach 
the  hallowed  spot.  Very  little  of  the  original  can  be  seen,  as  almost  all  is  cased  in  marble  ; 
but  just  enough  appears  to  show  by  the  glimmering  lamps  that  it  is  really  an  old  cave. 
A  silver  star  let  into  the  pavement  marks  the  birthplace ;  a  marble  trough  represents  the 


AN  EXAMPLE  OF  A  PEASANT'S  HOME,  WITH  ITS  MANGER,  IN  A  VILLAGE  OF  PALESTINE. 
The  raised  dais  is  occupied  by  the  family.    The  steps  over  the  arch  lead  to  a  store-place  for  grain,  &c. ;  dried  fruits  hang  from  the  rafters. 
The  rude  recess  on  the  left  contains  mattresses,  cushions,  and  coverlets. 


manger — the  original  being  said  to  be  transferred  to  Sta.  Maria  Maggiore,  in  Rome  ;  and 

the  sides  are  hung  with  comparatively  modern  pictures.    This  grotto  is  common  to  all  the 

sects.    Adjacent  is  the  Latin  Chapel,  with  very  old  paintings;  and  passages  lead  to  various 

caverns,  the  tombs  of  Eusebius,  of  Paula  and  Eustachia,  the  devout  friends  and  companions 

of  St.  Jerome,  but  most  interesting  of  all,  the  tomb  of  St,  Jerome  himself.    From  it  is  an 

opening  to  another  rock-hewn  chamber,  which  must  ever  have  a  fascination  for  the  biblical 
18 


I30  PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 

student.  Here  for  thirty-four  years  the  aged  and  venerable  father  studied  and  wrote. 
Driven  from  Rome  by  the  bitterness  of  theological  partisanship,  his  fiery  spirit  found  rest 
and  employment  in  seclusion  on  the  site  of  the  cradle  of  the  Christian  faith.  Here  in  his 
cavern-home  he  fasted  and  prayed.  But  here,  above  all,  he  carried  out  and  completed  what 
he  had  years  before  begun,  the  revision  of  the  various  versions  of  the  Scriptures,  and  from 
this  dark  cave  proceeded  that  precious  heritage  of  the  Christian  Church  for  all  time,  the  Latin 
version  so  well  known  as  the  Vulgate.  Besides  his  great  work  he  was  ceaseless  as  a 
pamphleteer.  Epistles,  tractates,  commentaries  issued  with  marvellous  rapidity  from  the 
Grotto  of  Bethlehem,  till  we  possess  one  hundred  and  fifty  epistles,  sixteen  treatises,  thirteen 
volumes  of  commentaries,  besides  his  Latin  version  and  his  translation  and  continuation  of 
the  History  of  Eusebius.  Verily  there  were  giants  in  those  days.  Nor  can  we  forget  that 
closing  scene  of  all,  which  Domenichino  has  commemorated  for  all  time  in  his  immortal 
picture,  when  the  aged  saint,  with  his  mortal  frame  worn  and  exhausted  by  years  and  labours, 
but  rejoicing  and  triumphant  in  spirit,  on  the  threshold  of  the  next  world  receives  the 
communion  and  yields  up  the  ghost. 

We  shall  see  as  we  travel  through  Judsea  how  potent  was  the  influence  and  example  of 
St.  Jerome  in  the  caves  and  rock-hewn  cells  which  fill  the  cliff  sides  of  the  Jordan  Valley 
and  stud  the  rest  of  the  country,  the  homes  of  the  anchorites  and  the  small  religious 
communities  which  sprang  from  Bethlehem,  the  faithful  copyists  of  the  austerities  but  not  of 
the  activities  of  the  mighty  Latin  father. 

Not  content,  however,  with  the  historical,  the  traditional  has  been  largely  drawn  upon  for 
sacred  localities.  We  leave  the  convent,  and  among  the  many  little  hillside  caves,  partly 
natural  and  partly  artificial,  is  one  which  in  popular  estimation  is  second  only  to  the  Grotto  of 
the  Nativity.  This  is  the  Milk  Grotto,  of  which  an  engraving  is  given  (see  page  135).  It  has 
no  special  feature  beyond  the  unusual  whiteness  of  the  soft  chalk  out  of  which  it  is  excavated. 
The  story  told  is  that  here  Joseph  and  the  Virgin  Mother  concealed  themselves  and  the 
Divine  Infant  before  their  flight  into  Egypt  from  the  fury  of  Herod,  and  that  some  drops 
of  the  Virgin's  milk  gave  the  rock  its  peculiar  whiteness.  The  place  is  consequently  the 
resort  of  numbers  of  pilgrims,  drawn  especially  by  the  belief  that  the  application  of  a  fragment 
of  the  rock  will  produce  an  abundant  supply  for  any  infant  at  the  mother's  breast.  As  the 
rock  is  very  soft,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  breaking  off  fragments,  which  are  carried  as  precious 
charms  into  all  the  Christian  countries  of  the  South  and  East. 

As  we  descend  into  the  valley,  the  corn-fields  of  Bethlehem,  we  are  reminded  by  the  peep 
we  have  just  had  of  the  Mountains  of  Moab  how  near  we  are  actually  to  the  home  of  Ruth. 
In  the  afternoon  especially  the  western  sun  lights  up  the  long  distant  line  with  a  delicate 
pink,  which  gives  an  impression  of  nearness  wanting  in  the  morning,  when  they  loom  grey  in 
front  of  the  rising  sun,  or  at  noon,  when  there  is  generally  a  heat  haze  between  us  and  them, 
caused  by  the  evaporation  from  the  Dead  Sea.  Most  travellers  visit  Bethlehem  in  the  early 
spring,  long  before  the  corn  is  ripe  ;  but  there  are  few  parts  of  the  country  where  the  customs 


132 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


of  the  people  in  harvest  may  be  more  freely  studied  than  in  Christian  and  peaceful  Bethlehem. 
They  are  a  practical  commentary  on  the  Book  of  Ruth.  The  corn-plain  is,  and  always  was, 
held  in  individual  proprietorship,  while  the  outlying  and  unfenced  district  beyond  {fores),  the 
"forest"  of  our  ancestors  in  England,  though  strictly  held  by  the  townsmen  as  against  all 
others,  yet  is  pastured  by  all  in  common,  according  to  regulations  agreed  on,  exactly  like  the 
old  common  rights  of  many  an  English  village  before  the  days  of  Enclosure  Acts.  Fences 
there  are  none,  but  every  here  and  there  we  see  the  stone  set  up,  the  landmark,  a  straight  line 
from  which  to  the  next  stone  marks  the  boundary  of  each  property.  The  stone  is  generally  a 
rude  undressed  block  partially  sunk  in  the  ground.  We  have  seen  an  ancient  Roman  milestone 
thus  used.  When  we  note  how  very  easy  it  would  be  for  the  dishonest  to  move  the  stone 
a  few  feet  without  detection,  we  can  well  understand  the  curse  pronounced  on  the  man  who 
should  remove  his  neighbour's  landmarks.  The  harvest-field  is  a  merry  scene.  The  whole 
village  turns  out,  and  the  children  and  aged  are  as  busily  employed  in  gleaning  as  the 
able-bodied  of  both  sexes  in  reaping.  But  as  the  harvest  is  earlier  on  the  plains  than  in  the 
hills,  commencing  in  April,  and  in  the  Jordan  Valley  sometimes  in  March,  many  labourers 
come  down  to  work  for  hire,  sleeping  on  the  field  by  night,  and  bringing  their  families  with 
them,  who  share  with  the  residents  the  privilege  of  gleaning.  Reaping  is  not  made  a 
toilsome  labour,  for  weather  is  certain,  and  we  have  seen  a  whole  row  of  reapers  using  their 
sickles  as  they  sat,  and  working  their  bodies  along  after  the  corn  without  attempting  to  rise. 
This,  however,  is  rather  Moslem  than  Christian  fashion.  The  farmer  or  proprietor  still,  as  he 
walks  up  to  the  reapers,  salutes  them  in  the  very  words  of  Boaz,  "  The  Lord  be  with  you  " 
{Allah  aleikmn),  and  the  response  is  still  the  same,  "  The  Lord  bless  thee."  The  threshing- 
floor  is  generally  on  the  spot,  so  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  carry  the  crop  in  bulk  far  for 
threshing,  and  by  the  balder  the  owner  and  his  family  sleep,  as  did  Boaz,  generally  under  a 
tent,  while  the  labourers  from  a  distance  lie  on  the  ground  around.  The  poor  gleaners  sit 
down  by  the  roadside,  as  Ruth  did,  and  beat  out  with  a  stick  on  their  heavy  veils  the  ears 
they  have  gleaned,  to  save  the  labour  of  carrying  home  the  straw.  Meantime  the  reapers 
prepare  their  simple  evening  meal.  A  small  heap  of  stubble  or  straw  is  kindled,  the  ears  cut 
off  are  tossed  on  the  fire,  and  as  soon  as  the  straw  is  consumed,  they  are  dexterously  swept 
from  the  embers  on  to  a  cloak  spread  on  the  ground.  They  are  then  beaten  out  and 
winnowed  by  being  tossed  into  the  air,  and  eaten  without  further  preparation.  The  green 
ears  become  half  charred  by  the  roasting,  and  there  is  a  pleasant  mingling  of  milky  wheat  and 
a  fresh  crust  flavour  as  we  chew  the  parched  corn.  Sometimes  the  corn  is  held  in  bunches 
over  the  fire  till  the  chaff  is  burned  off,  instead  of  being  tossed  into  the  blaze.  Of  course  the 
privilege  of  supplying  themselves  from  the  field  by  the  labourers  is  never  disputed.  The 
boisterous  mirth  and  rude  practical  joking  which  fill  up  the  evening  after  the  supper  remind 
us  that  Boaz's  caution  to  his  young  men  to  behave  respectfully  to  the  damsel  was  likely  to 
be  no  less  needful  then  than  now.  The  barley  harvest  is  finished  sometimes  before  the  wheat 
harvest  begins  ;  thus  Ruth  gleaned  "unto  the  end  of  barley  harvest  and  of  wheat  harvest." 


BETHLEHEM. 


133 


We  read  that  Boaz  bid  Ruth  hold  her  veil,  into  which  he  put  six  measures  of  barley. 
The  same  veil,  a  large  cotton  or  linen  cloth,  is  still  worn  by  the  women  of  Bethlehem,  and  is 
still  ample  and  strong  enough  to  hold  six  measures  of  corn.    The  women  of  Bethlehem  are 


MOTHER-OF-PEARL  WORKERS  OF  BETHLEHEM; 
Making  beads  for  rosaries. 


now  not  only  the  best-looking,  but  the  best-dressed  women  of  Palestine.  Perhaps  they  owe 
their  beauty  to  the  Norman  blood  in  their  veins,  for  there  is  little  doubt  the  Christian 
population  is  descended  from  the  knights  of  the  Crusades  and  their  followers.    But  their  dress 


134 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


is  certainly  not  Western,  and  was  probably  adopted  by  the  settlers.     Many  of  the  towns  and 

«  even  villages  of  Palestine  have  peculiar  female 

«  costumes,  like  the  different  cantons  of  Switzerland, 

s  The  head-dress  of  the  Bethlehemite  lady  is  a  stiff 

i  flat-crowned  brimless  hat,  from  three  to  five  inches 

"J  'f^^  ■•51 

'    '               \  ,          ^  ^  high  in  front,  and  longer  at  the  back  ;  it  is  gene- 

ij-  -  ^  rally  almost  covered  with  rows  of  gold  or  silver 

\.  ,                             s  coins,  and  from  each  side  of  it  a  string  of  larger 

/4r\^     \}   V,  'f       ,   '  coins  is  suspended.    This  head-dress  is  sufficientlv 


DAVID'S  WELL. 
Bethlehemite  women  filling  goat-skins  and  water-jars. 

firm  to  support  the  large  white  linen  veil,  which 
should  be  folded  neatly  over  it  so  as  to  hide  all 
but  the  lower  row  of  coins  which  rests  on  the 
forehead.  The  veil  is  generally  about  two  yards 
long  and  not  quite  a  yard  wide,  and  is  often  em- 
broidered at  the  ends  with  coloured  silk.  It  falls 
,  in  graceful  folds  upon  the  shoulders  and  down 
the  back,  and  is  drawn  partly  across  the  face  in 
the  presence  of  Moslems  or  strangers.    The  principal  garment,  and  often  the  only  one,  is  a 


BETHLEHEM. 


65 


long  blue  or  striped  gown,  girdled  at  the  waist,  with  very  wide  and  long  pointed  sleeves. 
The  front  of  this  gown  above  the  waist  is  always  more  or  less  ornamented  with  embroidery 
or  applique  work  of  red,  yellow,  and  green  cloth.  Over  the  gown  those  who  can  afford  it 
wear  a  bright  red  short-sleeved  jacket,  reaching  to  the  waist  or  to  the  knees.  When  women 
are  at  work  indoors  they  often  fasten  back  the  long  sleeves  of  their  gowns  and  wear  small 
head-veils,  as  shown  in  the  illustration  page  133. 

These  Bethlehemite  women  lead  no  idle  lives.  The  engraving  on  page  127  represents 
them  grinding  corn  on  an  open  stairway,  and  often,  after  having  toiled  in  the  fields  through  the 


THE  MILK  GROTTO,  BETHLEHEM, 


day,  and  then  just  before  sunset  carried  the  water  from  the  well,  they  will  sit  half  the  night  at 
their  monotonous  labour.  There  are  no  water-mills  in  the  south,  though  they  are  common 
enough  in  the  watered  mountainous  region  under  Lebanon,  and  may  be  found  in  some  places 
near  the  Jordan.  The  Crusaders  were  great  benefactors  to  the  country  in  the  erection  of 
water-mills  wherever  their  construction  was  possible,  and  the  ruins  of  their  mills  are  more 
numerous  than  those  of  their  castles.  The  first  caliphs  also  understood  their  value,  but  all 
their  works  have  long  since  been  allowed  to  fall  into  decay  and  ruin.  In  all  the  south,  hand- 
mills  are  the  sole  means  of  providing  flour.    Severe  as  is  the  labour,  we  fear  that  men  never 


136 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


condescend  to  it.  In  the  houses  of  the  richer  class  several  servant-maids  or  slave-girls  are 
kept  continually  at  the  tedious  task.  "  From  Pharaoh  to  the  maidservant  that  is  behind  the 
mill,"  shows  the  estimation  in  which  grinding  was  held.  As  we  pass  through  the  streets  at 
the  evening  hour  we  hear  the  low  monotonous  hum  of  the  hand-mill — the  "quern"  of  the 
Scottish  Highlands.  There  is  a  hole  in  the  centre  of  the  upper  millstone  through  which 
the  grain  is  passed,  a  handful  at  a  time,  by  one  of  the  two  women  who  sit  facing  each  other. 
"  Two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill."  Nearer  the  edge  is  another  hole,  in  which  an 
upright  handle  is  fixed  ;  both  the  women  hold  this  together,  and  work  it  as  two  men  would 
a  crosscut  saw.  The  flour  falls  out  on  to  a  cloth  on  which  the  nether  millstone  is  placed. 
The  stones  are  usually  made  of  lava  brought  from  the  Hauran,  harder  and  lighter  than  the 
sandstone  of  the  country,  which  indeed  is  not  very  common,  the  whole  formation  of  Central 
and  Southern  Palestine  being  soft,  chalky.  Eocene  limestone. 

But  we  cannot  leave  Bethlehem  without  recalling  some  of  those  picturesque  ceremonies 
connected  with  the  Church  of  the  Nativity,  which  arouse  in  the  thousands  of  pilgrims  far 
more  enthusiasm  than  any  of  the  Scripture  scenes  and  illustrations.  Naturally  the  most 
remarkable  and  the  most  frequented  are  those  of  Christmastide.  The  ceremonial  is  very 
gorgeous,  but  few  would  care  to  undergo  a  second  time  the  fatigue,  crowding,  and  heat  of  a 
service  held  in  these  suffocating  caves,  which  lasts  for  nine  hours.  The  French  Consul  from 
Jerusalem  is,  next  to  the  Patriarch,  the  most  important  personage  on  the  occasion,  representing 
"the  eldest  son  of  the  Church."  He  sets  out  on  the  forenoon  of  Christmas  eve  from  the  city, 
in  full  state  and  with  an  imposing  retinue.  He  is  met  by  the  Christians  outside  Bethlehem 
and  conducted  in  procession  to  the  Latin  Chapel.  The  service  continues  without  intermission 
until  midnight,  when  there  is  a  sudden  pause,  all  the  candles  on  the  altar  are  lighted,  and  a 
little  wax  image  appears  above  it,  and  the  "  Gloria  in  excelsis  "  bursts  forth  with  the  utmost 
power  of  organ,  choir,  and  shepherds'  pipes  combined.  Mass  and  other  services  follow  without 
intermission  for  two  hours,  when  the  Patriarch  carries  the  wax  figure  in  a  cradle  from  the 
chapel  across  the  church  and  down  to  the  Grotto  of  the  Nativity,  where  he  lays  it  on  the 
slab  that  marks  the  supposed  spot  of  the  birth,  and  wraps  it  in  strips  of  swaddling  clothes, 
while  the  Gospel  history  of  the  wondrous  event  is  being  read.  The  procession,  with  the 
Patriarch  and  Consul,  after  a  while  return  to  the  Latin  Chapel,  when  high  mass  is  again 
performed,  and  the  services  continue  until  after  sunrise. 

The  Christmas  festivals— for  the  Greek  and  Latin  celebrations  are  on  different  days,  o.s. 
and  N.s.  respectively — are  to  Bethlehem  what  the  Easter  ceremonies  are  to  Jerusalem — the 
main  support  of  the  industry  and  manufactures  of  the  place,  which  depend  upon  the  produc- 
tion and  sale  of  pilgrim  wares.  At  Christmas  the  harvest  is  reaped  for  which  ever  since  last 
Easter  the  Bethlehemite  at  home  has  been  industriously  preparing.  Every  one  who  has  been 
down  to  the  Jordan  and  there  bathed  is  considered  to  have  completed  his  pilgrimage,  and  is 
henceforth  a  palmer,  entitled  to  wear  the  scallop-shell  in  his  hat.  The  name  "  palmer  "  is 
derived  from  the  palm-branch  {djereed)  which  in  former  days  each  pilgrim  cut  in  the  Valley 


BETHLEHEM. 


137 


of  the  Jordan.  But  the  pahn  has  for  ages  been  all  but  extinct  round  the  "  old  city  of  palm- 
trees,"  and  less  poetic  woods  have  to  supply  the  modern  staves.     At  Bethlehem  everything 


HERODIUM,  OR  FRANK  MOUNTAIN,   FROM  BETHLEHEM. 


can  be  supplied — relics,  rosaries,  palm-boughs,  scallop-shells,  crosses,  and  little  images.  Large 
quantities  of  the  shell  of  the  giant  oyster  of  the  Red  Sea  {Meleagrina  niargaritifera)  are 


VIEW  FROM  THE  FRANK  MOUNTAIN. 
Looking  towards  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Mountains  of  Moab. 


brought  to  Bethlehem  from  Suez,  and  there  carved  into  the  pearly  scoops  in  which  most 

English  visitors  invest.     The  articles  most  prized  are  the  vases  wrought  out  of  the  stinkstone 
19 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


brought  from  the  Dead  Sea.  But  by  far  the  most  popular  wares  to  the  pilgrims  are  the 
rosaries,  of  which  piles  may  be  seen  heaped  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  dealers.  The 
cheapest  are  simply  strings  of  olive-stones,  with  the  round,  hard  seed  of  the  "  butm  "  inserted 
in  each  eleventh  place.  Others  are  turned  beads  of  olive-wood,  grown  of  course  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives  ;  and  some  are  really  richly  carved  and  elaborately  ornamented  in  the  lathe. 
To  each  rosary  an  additional  value  of  about  a  piastre  is  imparted  if  it  has  been  blessed  by  the 
Patriarch.  It  is  remarkable  that  no  unblessed  rosaries  or  crosses  are  to  be  found,  and  unless 
they  are  consecrated  wholesale  this  part  of  the  Patriarch's  labours  can  be  no  sinecure.  The 
great  mart  for  all  such  wares  is  about  the  Church  of  the  Nativity  and  in  its  porticoes,  where 
the  dealers  sit  on  the  pavement,  and  no  one  who  values  peace  and  quiet  will  attempt  to  evade 
the  not  unreasonable  tax  which  is  laid  on  the  stranger.  Besides,  a  liberal  purchaser  is  likely 
to  give  the  opportunity  for  an  invitation  to  visit  the  workshop,  and  consequently  to  see  the 
interior  of  an  Oriental  home. 

We  have  lingered  long  in  and  around  hallowed  Bethlehem.  Thence  our  course  lies 
towards  the  south-east  if  we  would  visit  the  spots  of  greatest  historic  and  archaeological 
interest  in  the  neighbourhood — the  Pools  of  Solomon,  Etham,  and  Herodium.  As  we 
descend  southwards  from  Bethlehem  the  rich  valley  and  fine  olive-groves  on  the  right  give 
some  idea  of  what  the  whole  country  was  in  the  days  when  it  was  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey.  Here  and  there  we  see  on  the  hillsides  the  broken  aqueduct  which  once  conveyed 
the  supplies  from  Solomon's  Pools  to  Bethlehem  and  Jerusalem.  On  our  left  we  catch 
occasional  glimpses  of  the  wilderness  of  David's  wanderings,  and  perched  on  a  height  are  the 
mounds  of  Tekoa.  We  leave  the  Hebron  road,  and  turning  eastward  we  enter  the  little 
Valley  of  Urtas,  near  the  head  of  which  are  the  Pools  of  Solomon.  A  mound  of  ruins  on  the 
south  side  on  the  top  of  a  hill  is  supposed  to  mark  the  site  of  the  ancient  Etham.  The 
modern  village  of  Urtas  is  below.  The  place  is  best  known  and  visited  as  "the  Gardens  of 
Solomon."  Etham  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  rock  Etam  where  Samson  took  refuge, 
and  which  is  far  to  the  westward  near  the  Philistine  plain,  probably  the  modern  'Atab.  From 
the  upper  valley  of  Etham  Josephus  tells  us  the  gardens  of  Solomon  were  watered,  and  recent 
researches  have  corroborated  the  tradition  which  marks  this  as  their  site.  We  know  that 
"  Solomon  made  him  a  garden  and  orchards,  and  planted  in  them  all  kinds  of  fruits,  and  pools 
of  water  to  water  therewith  the  wood  that  bringeth  forth  trees,"  and  Josephus  amplifies  the 
account  by  telling  us  that  he  made  him  a  chariot  of  wood  of  Lebanon  lined  with  gold,  and  a 
canopy  of  purple  silk  on  silver  pillars,  in  which  he  used,  clothed  in  white,  to  drive  to  his 
gardens  every  morning ;  for  he  had  laid  causeways  of  black  stone  (basalt)  along  all  the  roads 
that  led  to  Jerusalem,  upon  which  he  could  drive  his  chariot  with  ease  and  swiftness.  These 
smooth  causeways  have,  alas !  long  since  disappeared.  When  first  we  visited  the  valley, 
twenty-five  years  since,  it  was  bleak  and  bare  like  the  surrounding  country ;  now  on  entering 
it  we  find  ourselves  suddenly  in  a  bright  contrast  of  cultivation  and  luxuriant  verdure,  with 
vegetables  of  every  kind  shaded  by  orchards  that  soon  may  recall  Solomon's — apricots. 


THE  GARDENS  OF  SOLOMON. 


139 


mulberries,  and  peaches,  with  vines  on  the  steeper  slopes.  This  garden,  which  is  now  the 
important  source  of  the  supply  of  the  Jerusalem  market,  owes  its  origin  entirely  to  the  efforts 
of  friends  of  the  Jews'  Society,  seeking  to  provide  agricultural  employment  for  the  Christian 
Jews  on  their  own  land. 

We  now  pass  up  the  tiny  glen  to  El  Burak  (Solomon's  Pools),  by  the  side  of  the  direct 
road  from  Bethlehem  to  Hebron  (see  page  145).  Immediately  on  leaving  the  enclosed  gardens 
barrenness  resumes  its  sway.  The  valley  was  once  full  of  oaks  of  large  size,  and  stumps  may 
here  and  there  be  seen,  now  sought  for  and  dug  up  for  firewood.  The  pools  are  marked  at 
a  distance  by  the  great  square  castle  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  upper  one — a  late 
Saracenic  structure  serving  the  purposes  of  khan  and  barracks  for  a  few  soldiers.  The  pools 
are  three  in  number  and  in  steps,  each  at  a  considerably  lower  level  than  the  one  above  it,  and 
are  formed  by  waUs  of  massive  masonry  stretching  across  the  valley.  They  are  chiefly  hewn 
out  of  the  native  rock,  the  upper  one  especially  being  considerably  heightened  by  masonry 
strengthened  by  buttresses.  There  is  a  space  of  over  fifty  yards  between  each  pool.  We 
can  see  at  once  the  reason  for  constructing  three  basins,  for  a  single  reservoir  to  hold  so  large 
a  supply  would  have  demanded  an  embankment  of  enormous  strength.  The  tanks  are  all 
widest  at  the  lower  end,  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  one  hundred  and  forty-one,  and  one 
hundred  and  ninety-six  yards  in  length  respectively,  and  varying  in  width  from  fifty-three  to 
eighty  yards,  and  twenty-five,  thirty-eight,  and  forty-eight  feet  deep  respectively.  To  enable 
the  pools  to  be  cleaned  and  water  to  be  drawn  on  the  spot  when  not  quite  full,  there  are 
flights  of  stairs  inside  the  lower  end  of  each.  Not  only  are  the  supplies  from  several  springs, 
near  and  distant,  carefully  conducted  by  subterranean  channels  into  the  pools,  but  there  are 
also  channels  for  the  collection  and  conveyance  of  rain-water,  so  that  nothing  shall  be  lost. 
The  "  sealed  spring,"  as  it  is  called,  from  the  belief  that  it  is  identical  with  the  "  sealed 
fountain"  of  Solomon's  Song,  is  the  most  important  source  of  supply.  It  rises  in  a  field  a 
little  to  the  west,  is  trapped  in  a  vaulted  chamber,  and  conveyed  by  a  subterranean  channel 
into  the  upper  pool.  Besides  this  there  are  at  least  three  other  fountains  which  by  a  similar 
contrivance  feed  the  reservoir.  From  the  lower  end  of  the  lower  pool  the  great  aqueduct,  by 
a  winding  course  along  the  hillsides,  conveys  the  water  to  Jerusalem,  to  Mount  Moriah,  imme- 
diately under  the  Temple.  There  are,  however,  according  to  Mr.  Drake,  in  reality  six  aqueducts 
connected  with  Urtas  and  Solomon's  Pools.  The  first,  coming  from  the  south,  proceeds  to  El 
Burak,  and  is  of  a  different  and  probably  earlier  style  of  masonry  than  the  continuation  to 
Jerusalem,  which  is  the  second,  or  low-level  aqueduct ;  this  is  composed  of  earthen  pipes  set 
in  masonry,  with  air-holes  at  intervals  to  relieve  the  pressure.  The  third  is  the  high-level 
aqueduct  which  enters  Jerusalem  by  the  Birket  Mamilla,  near  the  Jaffa  Gate.  A  fourth 
aqueduct  in  the  same  direction  is  entirely  ruined,  while  the  fifth  and  sixth  supplied  villages 
or  towns  to  the  eastward  ;  one  of  them  can  be  traced  nearly  to  Jebel  Fureidis.  It  is  stated 
that  several  portions  of  these  aqueducts  prove  that  their  builders  were  aware  of  the  fact  of 
water  finding  its  level  when  confined.     It  is  generally  now  believed  that  these  are  all  of 


SOLOMON'S  POOLS, 


141 


Roman  work,  and  are  the  very  aqueducts  referred  to  by  Josephus  as  being  built  by  Pontius 
Pilate,  who  used  for  that  purpose  the  moneys  brought  into  the  Temple  treasury  as  "  corban." 
But  however  this  may  be,  the  pools  are  undoubtedly  of  great  antiquity,  and  the  knowledge 
shown  of  the  principle  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  water  when  conveyed  in  pipes  does  not  look  like 
merely  Roman  engineering.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  Rabbis  of  the  Mishna 
should  have  stated  that  Solomon  made  gardens  at  Etham,  and  conveyed  the  waters  thence  to 
Jerusalem,  if  there  had  been  no  such  provision  till  the  time  of  Pontius  Pilate.  It  seems  far 
more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  during  the  many  wars  which  desolated  the  land  the  original 
aqueducts  were  broken  and  were  repaired  at  different  times  ;  and  this  at  once  accounts  for 
the  great  difference  in  the  style  of  the  masonry  in  various  parts.  If  it  be  objected  that  we 
find  no  mention  anywhere  of  the  pools  being  constructed  by  Solomon,  it  may  be  replied  that 
neither  do  we  have  anywhere  any  record  of  the  epoch  of  the  erection  of  the  Haram  of 
Hebron,  which  is  undoubtedly  ancient,  and  neither  have  we  any  statement  that  Pilate  made 
the  pools.  They  are  so  much  more  remarkable  a  work  than  the  aqueduct,  that  admitting  he 
either  repaired  or  made  a  new  aqueduct,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the  pools  themselves 
should  not  have  been  recorded  as  his  work  ;  and  if  not  here,  where  else  could  have  been 
the  aqueducts  by  which  Solomon  supplied  the  Temple  with  water  ?  The  roofing  of  portions 
of  the  work  with  half-developed  arches  and  the  style  of  much  of  the  aqueduct  near  Jerusalem 
are  far  more  antique  than  the  Roman,  and  we  prefer  to  believe,  and  to  enjoy  the  belief  as  we 
sit  under  the  shade  of  the  Castle  of  El  Burak,  that  the  huge  cisterns  before  us  are,  at  least  in 
the  portion  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  the  work  of  the  great  king,  and  that  though  repaired  and 
restored  by  Herodian  and  Roman  hands  from  time  to  time,  they  are  in  their  main  features  a 
veritable  relic  of  the  peaceful  glories  of  the  great  Israelite  kingdom.  Broken  aqueducts  are 
throughout  the  whole  of  Palestine  the  most  striking  relics  of  departed  wealth  and  fertility. 
They  occur  just  in  the  most  unexpected  and  now  most  desolate  and  barren  tracts.  We  see 
how  they  spanned,  again  and  again,  the  sublime  gorges  between  Jerusalem  and  Quarantania ; 
we  find  traces  of  them  at  Engedi ;  they  still  mark  at  intervals  some  of  the  most  dreary  spaces 
of  the  Judsean  wilderness  ;  and,  strangest  of  all,  in  the  wadies  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the 
Dead  Sea,  in  the  Wady  Mahawat,  Zuweirah,  and  others,  we  find  traces  of  carefully  cemented 
aqueducts  which  once  supplied  cisterns  which  still  stand  ready,  waiting  but  for  the  return  of 
peace  and  security  to  make  that  desolate  land  once  more  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 

To  the  east  of  the  Pools  of  Solomon  are  several  sites  of  interest.  We  pursue  a  track  to 
the  south-west,  leaving  on  our  left  a  conspicuous  sugar-loaf  hill  which  must  be  visited  on  our 
return,  and  after  scrambling  up  a  rugged  little  ravine  without  cultivation,  on  the  brow  of  a  long- 
backed  hill  about  an  hour  and  a  half  from  El  Burak,  come  to  a  confused  mass  of  crumbling 
walls,  presiding  over  earth-covered  mounds  of  rubbish  — Tekua,  the  ancient  Tekoa. 

Just  north  of  Tekoa,  intervening  between  it  and  the  tall  peak  of  Frank  Mountain,  is  a 
rough  ravine  or  valley,  the  Wady  Khureitun,  so  named  from  a  hermit,  St.  Chariton,  in  the 
fourth  century,  who,  having  been  captured  by  robbers  in  this  glen,  after  his  escape  founded  a 


142 


PICTURESQUE'  PALESTINE. 


cell  or  laura  of  hermits  on  the  spot,  and  himself  died  in  the  cavern  which  he  had  made  his 
home.  Before  reaching  the  cave  the  open  valley  becomes  a  narrow  fissure,  several  hundred 
feet  deep,  with  rugged  precipitous  sides,  and  the  bottom  strewn  with  massive  fragments  of 
rock.  Altogether  there  is  a  strange  seclusion  and  wildness  about  the  spot.  The  only  access 
to  the  cavern  is  along  a  narrow  ledge  high  up  above  the  bottom  of  the  ravine.  A  fragment  of 
rock  lodged  on  the  edge  almost  bars  the  entrance.  On  climbing  over  this  we  enter  a 
narrow  low  passage  leading  to  a  small  cave,  from  which  a  winding  gallery  leads  to  the  great 
cave,  a  natural  grotto  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long  by  forty  feet  wide,  probably  the 
largest  in  Palestine.  When  candles  are  lighted  the  disturbed  bats  flutter  out  in  myriads, 
dashing  against  the  face  of  the  intruders  and  soon  extinguishing  any  unprotected  light. 
Numbers  of  narrow  passages  branch  out.  in  all  directions,  often  leading  to  chambers,  some  of 
which  are  partially  artificial ;  one  of  the  passages  is  one  hundred  feet  long.  Niches  are 
frequently  cut  in  the  inner  chambers,  and  fragments  of  urns  and  sarcophagi  tell  us  that  the 
dead  as  well  as  the  living  found  shelter  here.  Through  some  of  the  caverns  there  are  steep 
descents  into  a  lower  series  of  chambers,  and  a  second  cavern  of  considerable  extent.  Even 
in  this  land  of  caves,  that  of  Khureitun  is  remarkable,  if  not  unique.  It  seems  to  have  been 
formed  originally  by  water  action  eating  away  the  soft  limestone.  It  is  now  commonly  but 
incorrectly  spoken  of  as  the  Cave  of  Adullam.  But  this  tradition  only  dates  back  to  the  time 
of  the  Crusades,  and  no  doubt,  as  far  as  space  for  four  hundred  men  and  security  of  position 
are  concerned,  it  would  meet  all  the  requisite  conditions.  But  it  will  not  meet  the  topogra- 
phical necessities,  and  the  early  Christians  had  a  far  more  accurate  tradition  that  the  cave  was 
west  of  Bethlehem,  on  the  frontier  of  Philistia,  in  the  valley  of  Elah,  in  accordance  with 
the  statement  of  Josephus  that  it  was  near  the  royal  city  of  Adullam,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
central  range.  This  has  been  rescued  from  oblivion  by  Mons.  Ganneau,  corroborated  by  the 
officers  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  at  Ed  el  Miye,  in  the  low  hills  between  Bethlehem 
and  Gath,  a  strong  natural  position  with  good  water  supply  and  ancient  tombs,  and  especially 
with  a  great  number  of  habitable  caves  in  the  face  of  the  hillside,  amply  sufficient  for  the 
accommodation  of  David  and  his  men.  Fond  as  the  shepherds  and  inhabitants  of  Palestine 
are  of  dwellings  in  the  rock,  they  always  eschew  the  dark  large  caverns  like  those  of 
Khureitun.  The  darkness,  dampness,  oppressive  atmosphere,  and  the  swarms  of  scorpions 
and  bats  are  quite  enough  to  prevent  their  use  as  ordinary  dwellings.  The  marvels,  then,  of 
Khureitun  can  no  longer  be  maintained  to  be  historical  as  well  as  natural. 

From  Khureitun,  half  an  hour's  ride  brings  us  to  the  foot  of  Jebel  Fureidis,  the 
Herodium  of  Josephus,  the  Frank  Mountain  of  later  history. 

But  what  is  the  history  of  this  lone  fortress  ?  Its  earliest  certain  name,  Herodium,  was 
given  it  by  the  great  Idum^an,  who,  after  he  had  defeated  the  party  of  Antigonus  on  this 
spot,  raised  a  great  castle,  as  we  are  told  by  Josephus,  with  massive  fortifications.  Within 
was  the  royal  palace,  of  great  strength  and  splendour,  combining  luxury  with  security.  At 
the  foot  of  the  hill  he  also  built  splendid  edifices  for  himself  and  his  friends,  and  conveyed  the 


VALLEY  AND  RUINS  OF  KHUREITUN,  FROM  THE  CAVE  OF  ADULLAM. 


144 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


water  to  it  from  a  distance  at  a  vast  expense.  Here,  too,  the  tyrant  was  buried  with  great 
pomp,  his  corpse  being  brought  hither  from  Jericho,  where  he  died  in  frightful  agony,  after 
having  in  vain  sought  reHef  from  the  hot  springs  of  Callirrhoe.  The  tradition  in  the  locality 
is  that  Herod's  unhonoured  grave  is  in  the  reservoir  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  is  marked 
by  a  mound  which  still  remains  unsearched  exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  dried-up  pool.  After 
the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  L.  Bassus  took  Herodium  without  resistance,  and  with  that  event  its 
history  closes.  The  popular  European  name  of  Frank  Mountain  is  an  entire  misnomer,  not 
older  than  the  close  of  the  Crusades,  and  arising  from  a  groundless  tradition  that  the 
Crusaders  here  held  out  for  forty  years  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  For  this  there  is  neither 
topographical  nor  historical  warrant.  There  is  no  trace  of  their  works,  and  after  the 
destruction  of  the  aqueduct  of  Herod,  the  place,  with  no  natural  water  supply,  must  have 
been  utterly  untenable. 

The  view  from  the  Frank  Mountain  at  once  suggests  thoughts  of  David  and  his 
wanderings.  We  are  looking  on  the  scenes  on  one  side  where  the  youth  of  the  shepherd- 
harpist  was  spent ;  on  the  other,  the  eye  stretches  over  those  naked  and  wild  uplands  and 
ravines  where,  in  the  hardships  and  struggles  of  his  early  manhood,  the  chief  of  four  hundred 
outlaws  learned  the  art  of  ruling  men,  and  was  gradually  fitted  to  become  the  great  warrior- 
king,  as  he  wandered,  hunted  like  one  of  its  partridges,  through  those  bleak  wilds.  In  front 
of  us  is  spread  out  for  miles  a  rolling  bare  plain,  with  a  gentle  depression  working  towards 
the  south-east — a  plain,  the  desolation  of  which  is  much  more  conspicuous  from  the  fact  of  its 
being  neither  level  sand  nor  absolutely  monotonous.  Herbage  there  is  but  little,  and  then 
not  green,  but  of  a  dark  umber-brown  hue.  Trees  there  are  none,  and  the  general  outlook 
is  that  of  desolation  mingled  with  ruin.  There  is  a  sort  of  impression  that  something  is  at 
fault — that  there  ought  to  be  more  trees  and  shrubs ;  and  that  those  bare  stones,  scattered  as 
from  some  Titan's  hand  over  the  waste,  might  have  sheltered  vegetation  where  their  shadows 
powder  the  grim  expanse  under  the  sunlight  with  spots  of  darker  hue.  Beyond  this  dreary 
foreground  rises  one  tier  of  low  flat-topped  marly  hills  after  another,  their  flanks  scarped  and 
washed  bare  in  their  steeper  portions,  gleaming  a  pure  white,  but  the  bright  colour  only 
adding  effect  to  the  desolation  of  the  landscape.  Three  or  four  of  these  parallel  ranges  can 
be  distinguished,  and  then  deep  down  the  blue  of  the  sea  behind  them,  with  a  faint  haze 
caused  by  the  evaporation,  and  the  straight  line  of  Moab  several  hundred  feet  above.  It 
was  those  nearer  hills  rather  than  the  bare  foreground  which  gave  covert  and  protection  to 
David  and  his  followers,  and  where  still  the  ibex  takes  the  place  of  the  gazelle,  a  herd  of 
which  latter  we  saw  trotting  down  the  wady  in  front,  but  which  rarely  venture  into  the  arid 
hills,  the  refuge  of  the  wild  goat,  or  ibex.  It  must  be  admitted  that  when  we  enter  on  that 
labyrinth  of  the  "south  country"  of  Judah  the  scenery  is  neither  grand  nor  wild.  It  is 
simply  utter  barrenness,  not  a  tree  nor  a  shrub,  but  scant  and  stunted  herbage  in  occasional 
tufts,  covered  with  myriads  of  white  snails,  which  afford  abundant  sustenance  to  the  thousands 
of  larks  and  other  desert  birds  which  inhabit  it.     But  when  we  enter  on  the  hills  eastward  we 


KHUREITUN. 


145 


are  indeed  in  a  labyrinth.  What  seemed  from  Frank  Mountain  to  be  continuous  ranges,  on 
closer  acquaintance  prove  to  be  seamed  on  all  sides  diagonally  with  mountain  torrent  beds, 
leaving  blocks  rather  than  ridges  standing  between  valleys  of  soft  white  marl  sprinkled  with 
flints,  and  the  pebbly  watershed  (now,  of  course,  dry)  in  the  centre.  Here  trees  never  can 
have  grown,  and  the  expression  "wood  of  Ziph  "  ought  rather  to  be  rendered  "thickets." 
In  tracing  this  theatre  of  some  of  the  most  eventful  scenes  of  David's  early  life,  we  have 
still  the  Tell  Zif  to  fix  the  locality.  David's  earliest  refuge  after  his  flight  from  the  court  of 
Achish  was  the  Cave  of  Adullam,  which,  as  we  have  noted,  was  on  the  western  slopes  of 


POOLS  OF  SOLOMON. 

Now  called  El  Burak — the  tanks.    The  castle  above  them  is  occupied  by  a  few  soldiers  for  protection  against  the  Bedouins. 


the  central  mountain  range,  guarding  the  rich  corn  valley  of  Elah.  Thence  he  moved  south 
to  Keilah  on  the  same  range,  and  then  crossed  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Ziph,  where  he 
had  his  interview  with  Jonathan.  Close  to  Ziph,  Lieut.  Conder  has  discovered  the  ruins  of 
Khoreisa  and  the  valley  of  Hiresh,  which  exactly  answer  to  the  Hebrew  word  rendered 
"  wood "  in  our  Bible.  Then  again,  by  the  treachery  of  the  men  of  Ziph,  David  had  to  fly 
to  the  wilderness  (Jashimon),  i.e.  the  great  desert  plateau  we  have  been  describing  above 
the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea.  The  hill  Hachilah,  his  stronghold,  is  by  Lieut.  Conder  placed 
at  El  Kolah,  where  the  hilly  desert  and  the  southern  wilderness  meet ;  and  it  is  curious  to 
note  that  some  caves  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill  retain  the  name  of  the  "  Caves  of  the 
20 


146 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Dreamers,"  perhaps  the  very  spot  where  David  suddenly  surprised  the  sleeping  body-guard 
of  Saul.  From  Hachilah  he  went  to  the  wilderness  of  Maon,  Nabal's  home,  which  can  easily 
be  seen  from  Ziph,  as  can  the  great  crusading  town  which  marks  the  Carmel  where  Nabal 
had  his  flocks  and  herds.  Lieut.  Conder  further  suggests  a  deep  gorge,  "  the  valley  of  the 
rocks,"  between  Maon  and  El  Kolah,  as  the  "  cliff  of  division,"  as  the  scene  of  David's  last 
interview  with  Saul,  when  he  had  taken  his  spear  and  cruse  of  water  from  beside  his  bolster. 
There  is  no  other  place  in  the  neighbourhood  which  would  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
history,  and  the  chasm  here  is  very  narrow  and  absolutely  impassable  except  by  a  detour  of 
several  miles.  We  have  thus  brought  before  us  as  in  a  panorama,  which  may  be  seen  from 
the  top  of  a  single  hill  (Cain)  east  of  Ziph,  the  whole  scenery  of  David's  flight,  and  Saul's 
pursuit. 

The  traditional  Cave  of  Adullam,  or  Khureitun,  which  has  been  already  described  (see 
page  147),  is  the  most  remarkable  for  its  size,  and  the  least  changed  from  its  original  form  of 
any  of  those  caverns  which  are  among  the  peculiar  features  of  this  country  of  limestone  hills. 
The  ancient  Jews  do  not  appear  to  have  used  the  caves  generally  as  dwellings,  though  in 
Palestine,  as  over  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  we  find  traces  of  primitive  man  in  the  prehistoric 
period  leading  a  troglodyte  life.  The  predecessors  of  the  Canaanites,  the  Horites,  or  "  cave- 
men "  (Deut.  ii.  1 2),  though  in  the  Scripture  texts  specially  spoken  of  as  the  aborigines  of 
Edom — where  still  their  excavated  dwellings  are  to  be  found  by  hundreds — yet  evidently 
extended  to  the  south  of  Palestine.  The  Emim  and  Rephaim,  who  existed  down  to  the 
time  of  Abraham  east  of  Jordan,  seem  to  have  been  of  the  same  race.  Their  successors  did 
not  altogether  abandon  cave  dwellings,  for  in  the  south  of  Judah,  and  even  in  the  north,  as 
at  Endor  in  Galilee,  we  find  many  villages  in  which  the  caves  in  the  hillsides  have  manifestly 
served  for  the  store-rooms  or  inner  chambers  of  the  houses  built  out  in  front.  But  the 
principal  use  to  which  they  were  applied  by  the  Israelites  was  that  of  tombs.  The  Jewish 
mode  of  sepulture  was  doubtless  suggested  by  the  vast  number  of  caves,  which,  though 
common  enough  in  all  soft  limestone  formations,  yet  in  this  country,  so  universally  hilly 
without  being  mountainous,  seamed  in  every  direction  with  little  water-worn  valleys,  abound  as 
in  no  other  region.  Land,  too,  was  very  precious.  "  God's  acre  "  was  unknown,  yet  nowhere 
were  the  resting-places  of  the  dead  held  in  greater  respect.  Poor  indeed  must  have  been 
that  family  which  could  not  secure  at  least  a  portion  of.  some  rock-hewn  chamber  for  a  family 
burying-place.  From  Abraham  to  Joseph  of  Arimathea  the  custom  remained  unchanged. 
Rachel  and  Joseph  are  among  the  rare  exceptions  where  the  grave  was  not  hewn  out  of  the 
rock.  So  universal  was  the  custom,  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  explore  a  cave  in  any  part  of 
this  land  without  finding  traces  of  its  having  once  been  a  place  of  sepulture. 

But  after  the  second  captivity  we  find  the  caves  put  to  another  use.  When  in  the  third 
and  fourth  centuries  the  fashion  of  a  hermit  life  took  root  in  Palestine,  the  disused  sleeping- 
places  of  the  dead  became  the  homes  of  the  living.  A  refuge  adopted  at  first,  perhaps,  from 
necessity  or  for  security,  became  an  established  type  of  dwelling ;  and  he  could  hardly  expect 


MAR  SABA. 


149 


contented  himself  with  a 
shelf  in  the  little  inner 
closet.  The  tomb  is  also 
shown  of  John  of  Damas- 
cus, and    of    other  less 

celebrated  saints.  The  h,^--,^^.,..^. — 
library  is  reputed  to  contain  rare  manu- 
script treasures,  but  these  are  not  kept  to  be  read  or 
examined ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  Curzon  and 
Tischendorf,  very  few  travellers  have  been  able  to 
examine  them.  Curzon  found  several  MSS.  of  great 
interest,  among  them  a  copy  of  the  first  eight  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  Homer's  Iliad  on  paper,  and  one 
ancient  Servian  MS.  All  the  others  were  in  Greek,  and 
he  estimated  the  number  at  about  one  thousand.  From 
the  state  of  some  we  saw  in  the  cell  of  the  head  of  the 


BALCONIES  TO  MONKS'  CELLS,  MAR  SABA, 
And  a  peep  into  the  convent  garden. 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


convent,  we  fear  a  librarian  is  much  needed  here. 
For  better  security  the  key  of  the  library  is  kept  by 
the  Patriarch  at  Jerusalem.  The  history  of  this 
remarkable  settlement  begins  with  St.  Euthymius, 
about  A.D.  450.  His  favourite  pupil, 
St.  Saba,  born  in  Cappadocia,  a.d.  439, 
has  eclipsed  his  master's  fame.  He 
gathered  round  him  a  vast  number  of 
anchorites,  and  formed  them 
into  a  community  under  the 
rule  of  St.  Basil.  He  was 
made  Archimandrite  by 
the  Patriarch  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  in  that  capa- 
city supported  orthodoxy  against  the 
monophysitical  heresy  by  driving  his 
opponents,  at  the  head  of  his  armed 
monks,  out  of  the  sacred  city.  After 
his  feats  of  arms  and  controversies  he 
died  here  in  peace,  a.d.  532,  at  the 
age  of  ninety-four  years.  The  convent- 
fortress  has  been  often  sacked,  especially 
by  Chosroes,  the  Persian  devastator, 
about  A.D.  604,  and  frequently  during 
the  stormy  vicissitudes  of  the  Crusading 
epoch.    It  was  again  pillaged  during 


/ 


'1  fimWu^ 
111 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  CAVE  OF  ST.  SABA. 


MAR  SABA. 


the  Syrian  troubles  in  1834,  and  was  subsequently  repaired  by  Russia.  The  convent  is 
considered  by  the  Greeks  almost  a  penal  one,  and  scandal  says  that  all  its  inmates  except 
the  superiors  have  been  sent  hither  for  heresy  or  other  offences.  Of  heresy  certainly  they 
must  be  acquitted,  so  far  as  their  knowledge  goes,  for  they  are  profoundly  ignorant,  and 
whatever  their  other  offences  may  have  been,  they  are  unwearied  in  their  devotions.  Every 
monk  has  to  attend  the  services  seven  times  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  from  4  a.m.  to  midnight. 
Only  one-third  of  the  sixty  brethren  are  in  holy  orders,  and  many  of  the  lay  brethren  are  unable 
to  read.  They  are  from  Turkey,  Greece,  the  Archipelago,  and  a  few  Russians  ;  but  modern 
Greek  is  the  language  of  daily  intercourse,  and  few  understand  Arabic.  All  are  under  a  vow 
never  to  taste  fresh  m_eat,  and  their  diet  is  both  meagre  and  stinted  in  quantity.  Eggs  are 
permitted  on  Sundays  only.  On  other  clays  the  allowance  is  a  small  brown  loaf,  a  dish  of 
cabbage  broth,  a  plate  of  olives,  an  onion,  half  an  orange,  a  quarter  of  a  lemon,  six  figs,  and 
half-a-pint  of  wine  apiece.  A  little  raki  or  spirits  is  also  permitted.  There  is  all  the  difference 
between  the  monks  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  rites  in  Palestine  that  characterizes  the  political 
and  religious  position  of  the  two  churches,  and  nowhere  is  the  contrast  more  clearly  illustrated 
than  at  Mar  Saba  and  Carmel.  The  one  is  always  aggressive,  the  other  on  the  defensive.  In 
everything  Greek  there  seems  embodied  a  cold  dead"  conservatism,  tenacious  it  knows  not 
why,  and  looking  on  every  concession  or  relaxation  of  a  rule  as  a  confession  of  weakness. 
Thus,  though  the  rule  of  the  Carmelite  may  be  as  stringent  as  that  of  St.  Saba,  there  is  no 
fear  of  the  former  being  enforced  to  the  injury  of  health  or  the  disadvantage  of  the  order. 
"  Reculer  pour  mieux  sauter,"  is  the  motto  of  Rome  in  small  things  as  well  as  in  great.  She 
has  shown  this  in  her  management  of  the  Maronites  and  the  Greek  Catholics,  lost  to 
Constantinople  through  obstinate  mismanagement.  The  marriage  of  the  priests,  the  use  of 
the  Syrian  language,  the  liturgy  of  St.  James,  a  different  calendar  of  saints,  all  have  been 
conceded,  since  union  could  be  had  on  no  other  terms.  The  Greek  never  dreams  of  enlarging 
his  fold,  nor  of  concessions  which  might  retain  the  waverers  ;  in  matters  ecclesiastical  all  the 
proverbial  astuteness  of  the  Hellenic  race  seems  to  desert  him.  A  monastic  life  is  chosen,  as 
one  of  the  monks  here  told  us,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  of  eating  the  bread  of  idleness, 
and  there  is  no  training  for  their  vow,  nor  any  thought  of  applying  this  life  of  the  religious  to 
the  advantage  of  the  Church.  Thus  while  every  Latin  monastery  in  Syria  is  the  centre  of  an 
aggressive  mission,  the  Eastern  Church  does  not  even  adapt  her  battalions  of  celibates  to 
man  her  defensive  works.  Ages  of  Moslem  oppression  and  the  dense  ignorance  of  the  local 
priesthood  have  done  their  work;  and  while  the  truth  has  been  obscured  and  the  written 
Word  of  God  forgotten,  she  seems  to  have  lost  even  the  desire  to  discover  or  understand  it. 

These  poor  monks  have  but  one  amusement,  and  that  is  the  feeding  and  cultivating  the 
various  wild  birds  and  animals  of  the  glen.  In  this  they  have  been  marvellously  successful. 
I  watched  a  pet  wolf,  which  came  every  evening,  as  the  bell  tolled  six,  to  the  fort  of  the 
monastery  for  his  ration  of  bread  dipped  in  oil,  which  a,  friendly  monk  regularly  dropped  to 
him  over  the  wall.    The  wolf  was  jealous  of  his  privilege,  and  chased  back  several  others 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


which  attempted  to  accompany 
him.  He  might  have  been, 
from  his  manners,  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  St.  Saba's  lion. 
There  was  a  whole  pack  of 
jackals  also  which  regularly 
came  to  be  fed,  and  at  another 
corner,  by  themselves,  three 
foxes.  But  the  most  remark- 
able of  their  pets  are  the  bronze- 
winged  grakles  [Amydi^us  tris- 
tranii),  peculiar  to  the  Dead 
Sea  basin ;  elsewhere  these 
birds  are  the  most  shy  of  the 
denizens  of  the  rocks,  but  here 
they  perch  in  flocks,  and  are 
fed  from  the  hand,  or  catch 
berries  as  they  are  thrown  up 
for  them  in  the  air,  while  their 
rich  bell-like  notes  resound  in 
sweet  cadence  from  cliff  to  cliff. 

When  we  leave  the  hos- 
pitable convent — for  hospitable 
it  is  to  those  who  are  reasonable 
enough  to  be  content  with  what 
the  monks  can  provide  —  we 
find  ourselves  in  a  region  en- 
tirely distinct  physically  from 
either  the  plains  or  the  hill 
country  of  Palestine.  We  have 
descended  into  the  Dead  Sea 
valley,  and  though  over  one 
thousand  feet  above  its  surface, 
yet  the  Wady  Nar,  at  the  foot 
of  Mar  Saba,  is  on  the  level  of 
the  Mediterranean.  The  air 
here  is  hot  and  close;  all  the 
plants  are  new  and  strange ; 
the  entire  flora  has  changed. 
21 


•  MAR  SABA.  153 


ST.  SABA'S  PALM-TREE. 


154 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


In  the  rocks  of  this  Kedron  valley  the  curious  little  Syrian  hyj^ax,  the  coney  of  Scripture, 
abounds  ;  and  little  miniature  porcupines,  true  mice,  but  with  the  covering  of  a  hedgehog 
instead  of  fur,  may  be  seen  nibbling  among  the  brown  brushwood.  Everything  is  tawny. 
The  Greek  partridge  gives  place  to  the  desert  sand  partridge  ;  the  hare  is  of  the  same  russet 
hue  ;  the  foxes,  the  larks,  everything  that  moves,  are  of  the  same  uniform  fawn  colour,  rarely 
with  the  least  variation  in  shade.  The  only  exceptions  are  a  few  chats,  birds  of  bright  black- 
and-white  livery,  which  seek  their  safety  not  in  flight  or  concealment,  but  in  the  fissures  of  the 
rocks.  The  foliage  and  the  blossoms  of  most  of  the  plants  are  alike,  a  brownish  yellow  or 
a  yellowish  white.  The  beetles  alone  of  living  things,  apparently  for  the  convenience  of  the 
birds  which  feed  on  them,  retain  their  bright  and  conspicuously  coloured  liveries. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  views  of  the  Dead  Sea,  at  least  of  its  northern  part,  is 
obtained  by  following  the  crest  of  this  "Valley  of  Fire"  to  the  edge  of  the  precipitous  wall 
where  it  enters  the  Dead  Sea.  From  the  top  of  the  fissure  a  wide  plain  pushing  out  in 
several  gracefully  sweeping  sandspits  into  the  sea  can  be  seen  spread  below,  and  at  this 
distance  does  not  reveal  its  barrenness.  A  strange  conical  hill,  like  a  colossal  cairn,  stands 
isolated  in  the  centre  of  the  plain,  a  relic  of  the  deposit  which  once  filled  the  valley.  The 
view  of  the  coast-line  is  uninterrupted  nearly  to  Engedi.  A  dark  rich  belt  of  tall  cane  brake 
fringes  the  plain  twelve  hundred  feet  beneath  us,  from  headland  to  headland.  The  eye  can 
trace  the  line  of  the  eastern  mountains,  parallel  to  the  hills  of  Judaea,  almost  from  Mount 
Gilead  to  Kerak.  The  red  ridge  of  Moab,  with  the  sun  casting  purple  shadows  here  and 
there,  and  patches  of  bright  light  on  its  level  summits,  is  furrowed  by  the  deep  ravines  of 
the  Callirrhoe  and  the  Arnon  ;  while  below  the  sea  lies  unruffled,  blue  and  glossy,  shining  like 
oil,  with  here  and  there  long  streaks  of  what  may  be  froth  or  ripple  in  narrow  bands  across 
it.  Southward  may  be  detected  the  Lisan  (or  tongue),  a  broad  flat  peninsula  of  barren  marl, 
which  stretches  almost  across  the  southern  part  of  the  lake.  From  these  hills  it  looks  like  a 
narrow  sandspit  dovetailing  with  the  wavy  outlines  of  one  low  spit  after  another  running  out 
to  meet  it  from  the  western  shore.  These  white  spits  all  sparkle  and  glitter  in  the  sunlight 
like  diamonds  studded  over  a  field  of  silver. 

Perhaps  it  is  by  moonlight  that  that  silent  mysterious  lake  is  most  impressive.  It  is  a 
long  weary  scramble  from  the  ridge  down  to  the  shore,  and  horses  must  be  carefully  led 
down  the  passes,  which  are  only  fit  for  goats,  i.e.  if  the  route  be  taken  from  Mar  Saba,  for  down 
to  Jericho  from  Jerusalem  the  road  is  easy  and  good.  When  a  full  moon  rises,  the  eastern 
hills,  which  gleamed  so  warm  a  glow  before  sunset,  are  shrouded  in  glDom,  and  the  moon's 
radiance  shoots  over  the  burnished  surface  of  the  lake.  There  is  a  stillness  that  may  be  felt. 
Rarely  does  the  wandering  Bedouin  visit  these  shores  by  day,  and  never  by  night.  The 
Dead  Sea  has  often  been  described  and  still  more  often  been  the  subject  of  romance.  But  let 
us  put  aside  all  preconceived  notions,  and  so  long  as  we  do  not  try  to  drink  it  or  rub  it  into 
our  eyes,  we  shah  find  a  centre  of  landscape  of  rare  beauty  and  endless  variety.  True  there 
is  no  life,  animal   or  vegetable,  within  its  acrid  waters ;  true  that  for  the  like  reason  its 


THE  DEAD  SEA. 


155 


immediate  shores  are  barren  ;  but  wherever  fresh  water  approaches  it 
there  are  nooks  of  surpassing  loveliness  and  verdure.  Such 
are  Eneedi,  the  Saheh,  the  mouths  of  the  Callirrhoe  and 
the  Arnon,  and  other  favoured  spots, 
where   the    fronds    of    the  palm-tree 
almost  lave  its  brine  ;  and  on  all  sides 
the  cliffs    and    mountains  between 
which  it  lies  buried 
ff<i&»kfei.',      are  rich  in  every  hue 
save    green.  Dead 
Sea   is   a  Greek 


and  modern  name.      To  the  Jew  it 
was  the  Salt  Sea,  to  the  Arab  it  is 
the  Bahr  Lut,  "  Sea  of  Lot."    In  one  • 
respect  it  is  a  lake  without  parallel  in 
the  world,  the  deepest  depression  on 
the  earth's  surface,  being  no  less  than 
one  thousand  three  hundred  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  ocean.    It  is  the  lower 
extremity  of  a   deep  fissure  or  rent 
which    runs   down  from    the  foot  of 
Hermon,  a  sort  of  continuation  of  the  Bukaa,  or  cleft, 
which  at  a  higher  altitude  divides  the  Lebanon  range  from 
the  Anti-Libanus,  or  Hermon.    This  deep  chasm  is  drained 
by  the  Jordan,  which  leaps  full  grown  at  birth  from  one  of 
the  largest  springs  in  the  world,  under  Banias,  the  ancient 
Caesarea  Philippi.  It  makes  a  pause  at  Huleh,  the  old  waters 
of  Merom,  feeding  first  an  impenetrable  papyrus  swamp, 


HERMITS'  CAVES  IN  THE  CLIFFS  OF 
THE  KEDRON. 


156  PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 

and  then  the  little  lake  four  miles  long.  Its  next  halt  is  at  the  hallowed  Lake  of  Galilee,  six 
hundred  and  eighty-two  feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  whence  it  pursues  a  tortuous  course 
within  narrow  limits  for  a  direct  distance  of  sixty-five  miles  to  the  north  end  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
It  has  no  outlet,  and  the  volume  of  water  constantly  poured  into  it  from  the  Jordan  and  the 
rivers  of  Moab,  as  well  as  by  the  torrents  on  the  west  side  and  southern  end,  is  carried  off 
simply  by  evaporation.  This  alone  in  the  case  of  a  lake  without  exit  would  be  sufficient,  to 
account  for  its  saltness,  for  the  saline  particles  carried  down  in  solution  are  not  evaporated,  but 
remain,  and  by  their  continual  additions  add  to  the  saltness  of  the  stagnant  water.  Hence  all 
such  lakes  are  invariably  salt.  But  in  this  case  there  is  an  additional  cause  in  the  vast  salt 
deposit  several  miles  long  at  the  south  end,  Jebel  Usdum,  past  which  little  streams  flow  into 
the  sea,  bringing  fresh  supplies  of  brine.  Not  only  in  the  depression  of  its  surface  below  the 
sea-level,  but  also  in  the  enormous  depth  of  its  water  the  Dead  Sea  is  unique  among  lakes.  Its 
greatest  depth  near  the  north  end  is  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  eight  feet,  and  close  to 
the  Moab  shore  it  descends  sheer  for  nine  hundred  feet.  The  southern  portion,  on  the 
contrary,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lisan,  is  only  about  twelve  feet  deep.  The  extraordinary 
perpendicular  depth  on  the  east  side  is  explained  by  the  geological  causes  which  have  formed 
the  whole  fissure.  Volcanic  agency  has  only  indirectly  been  at  work,  but  at  some  recent 
geologic  epoch,  subsequent  to  the  formation  of  the  chalk,  but  before  the  eocene,  there  must 
have  been  a  sudden  and  immense  crack,  dislocating  the  whole  stratification.  In  fact,  the  bed 
of  the  valley  must  have  fallen  towards  the  centre  of  the  earth,  with  line  of  dislocation  along 
the  eastern  edge.  This  is  shown  by  the  entire  change  of  the  geological  formation  east  and 
west  of  the  Jordan.  On  the  east  side  we  have  the  new  red  sandstone,  and  hard  limestone  of 
the  age  of  our  greensand  above  it ;  while  apparently  on  the  top  of  the  red  sandstone  at  the 
south  of  the  lake  on  its  western  side  lies  the  great  deposit  of  rock-salt,  such  as  is  found  on  our 
new  red  sandstone  in  England.  These  sandstone  beds  are  but  slightly  inclined,  and  rise 
abruptly.  On  the  west  side,  on  the  contrary,  the  red  sandstone  is  never  found,  but  we  have 
soft  strata  of  the  chalk  and  eocene  periods,  dipping  with  many  faults  from  west  to  east,  and 
often  strangely  contorted.  Hence  they  must  have  been  deposited  previous  to  the  dislocation. 
But  on  the  top  of  this  chalk  there  remains  on  the  tops  of  the  hills  an  eocene  deposit,  very  rich 
in  fossils,  and  which,  though  washed  out  of  the  valleys,  yet  remains  undisturbed  elsewhere, 
and  which  has  no  eastward  dip.  At  this  period  the  sea  must  have  rolled  over  the  whole  of 
Syria  south  of  the  Lebanon,  and  probably  (though  this  is  not  clear)  over  the  ridge  of  Akabah 
to  the  Red  Sea.  Subsequent  to  the  formation  of  the  Jordan  valley  appears  to  have  been  the 
great  volcanic  period,  when  streams  of  lava  overflowed  the  whole  of  the  Ledjah  and  Hauran 
(Trachonitis  and  Bashan),  and  covered  a  large  portion  of  the  country  west  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  and  as  far  south  as  Gilboa,  with  many  eruptions  in  the  east  of  Moab,  none  of  which 
exhibit  signs  of  being  waterworn.  Still  there  may  have  been  many  earlier  epochs  of  volcanic 
activity,  and  the  region  has  always  been  bituminous,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  deposits  and 
streaks  of  bitumen  in  the  chalk  rocks.    These  volcanic  eruptions,  draining  out  the  molten 


THE  DEAD  SEA. 


157 


rocks  from  beneath  and  pouring  them  forth  in  lava  floods,  may  have  caused  the  sudden 
subsidence  along  the  axis  of  the  valley. 

But  after  it  was  formed  it  was  long  before  the  Dead  Sea  became  reduced  to  its  present 
level.  The  history  of  its  gradual  subsidence  is  written  on  the  western  slopes,  not  only  of 
the  sea  itself,  but  on  those  of  the  valley  as  far  as  Kurn  Surtabeh,  nearly  half-way  to  the  Lake 
of  Galilee.  The  eastern  side  is  far  too  steep  to  allow  any  deposits  to  remain  ;  but  on  the 
opposite  side,  and  especially  up  the  valleys  which  debouch  on  the  plain,  there  are  white 
deposits  of  chalky  marl  and  gypsum  strongly  impregnated  with  salt,  so  that  not  the  slightest 
vegetation  can  exist.  These  raised  beaches  have  been  left  when  the  sea  was  double  its  present 
extent,  and  are  four  hundred  feet  above  the  present  level.  About  two  hundred  feet  lower 
down  are  the  marks  of  a  second  coast-line,  and  a  third  former  boundary  of  the  lake  is  marked 
by  another  set  of  flat  shelves  of  marl  about  a  hundred  feet  above  the  present  surface.  Again, 
about  seventy  feet  lower  may  be  traced,  especially  at  the  south  end,  the  register  of  another 
long  pause  in  its  subsidence  before  the  lake  became  reduced  to  its  present  contracted  limits. 
In  historic  times  there  is  no  evidence  of  the  extent  of  the  sea  having  varied  much.  True,  it 
rises  and  falls  a  few  feet — perhaps  within  the  limits  of  four  feet — at  different  seasons  of  the 
year ;  but  taking  one  year  with  another  its  bulk  appears  to  be  almost  stationary.  Perhaps 
the  supply  scarcely  keeps  pace  with  the  exhaustion  by  evaporation  ;  but  had  it  been  much 
higher,  for  instance  in  the  times  of  Joshua,  the  sites  .of  Beth  Hogla  and  Gilgal  could  scarcely 
have  been  habitable.  At  either  end  of  the  lake  are  wide  level  plains  of  several  miles  in 
extent,  that  at  the  south  end  being  absolute  desolation.  For  about  seven  or  eight  miles  it  is 
scarcely  above  the  winter  level  of  the  water,  and  is  sometimes  overflowed,  while  both  the  soil 
and  the  waters  of  the  several  streams  which  drain  the  Arabah  are  so  saturated  with  mineral 
salts  that  even  marine  vegetable  life  is  impossible.  But  the  moment  we  rise  even  three  feet 
above  this  plain  the  vegetation,  nourished  by  the  abundant  springs  and  rills  from  the  eastern 
mountains,  becomes  dense  and  luxuriant,  as  in  the  Ghor  Safieh,  at  the  south-eastern  corner  of 
the  lake.  The  northern  plain,  or  Ghor,  as  it  is  called — the  "  Ciccar"  of  the  Hebrews — though 
barren,  is  by  no  means  so  utterly  lifeless,  and  on  the  east  side  the  desert  portion  forms  but  a 
narrow  fringe.    The  reason  of  this  is  the  higher  level  of  the  northern  plain. 

When  we  return  to  the  north  end  of  the  lake,  we  find  the  flat  shores  strewn  for  several 
hundred  yards  from  the  water's  edge  with,  the  gaunt  trunks  and  branches  of  palms,  tamarisks, 
and  smaller  trees  carried  down  by  the  winter  floods,  and  then  cast  on  shore  denuded  of  their 
bark,  bleached  and  incrusted  with  salt,  and  by  their  grim  skeleton  appearance  most  suggestive 
of  the  name  Dead  Sea. 

It  is  on  this  northern  plain  of  Ghor  that  it  seems  certain  we  must  place  the  sites  of  the 
Cities  of  the  Plain,  "suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire."  Much  labour  and  ingenuity  has 
been  exhausted  on  the  question  of  their  situation.  Before  arriving  at  a  definite  conclusion  it 
maybe  as  well  to  clear  the  ground  by  some  general  observations.  In  the  first  place,  it  has  been 
frequently  assumed  that  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  its  sister  cities  was  the  result  of  some 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


CONVENT  OF  MAR  SABA,  FROM  BROOK  KEDRON, 
Five  hundred  and  ninety  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  ravine  below. 


SITE  OF  SODOM  AND  GOMORRAH. 


i6i 


would  enable  a  spectator  to  identify  the  region  whence  the  smoke  arose,  which  he  could  not 
do  if  it  had  been  at  the  lower  end.  Again,  in  the  account  of  the  inroad  of  Chedorlaomer, 
we  read  that  the  invaders  returning  from  Mount  Seir  smote  the  Amorites  in  Haze2on  Tamar, 
and  then  were  met  by  the  King  of  Sodom  and  his  confederates  in  the  plains  of  Siddim,  and 
were  pursued  by  Abraham  to  the  sources  of  the  Jordan.  This  could  not  have  been  if  Sodom 
and  the  other  cities  had  been  at  the  south  end.  Lastly,  in  the  view  granted  to  Moses  from 
Pisgah,  "he  beheld  the  south  and  the  plain  of  the  valley  of  Jericho,  the  City  of  Palm-trees, 
unto  Zoar."  From  Nebo  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  see  the  south-east  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the 
modern  Dra'a,  supposed  to  be  Zoar ;  but  if  Zoar  were  somewhere  on  the  lower  slopes  below 
the  Moabite  range  the  description  is  perfectly  natural.  One  very  careful  explorer  (Lieut. 
Conder,  R.  E.),  suggests  Wady  Amriyeh,  near  Ain  Feshkhah,  at  the  north-west  shoulder  of 
the  Dead  Sea,  as  radically  identical  in  its  name  with  Gomorrah,  and  near  a  great  and 
plenteous  spring.  He  suggests  El  Damieh,  near  Surtabeh,  twenty-three  miles  higher  up  the 
valley,  as  pointing  to  the  city  Adam,  which  he  identifies  with  Admah.  Shaht  ed  Duba'a, 
i.e.  the  lair  of  the  hyena,  the  cliff  just  above  Roman  Jericho,  he  suggests  as  answering  to 
Zeboim,  i.e.  hyenas.  We  believe  that  the  true  topography  is  that  which  would  place  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  in  the  wide  eastern  stretch  of  the  plains  of  Jordan,  in  front  of  the  wide 
plains  of  Shittim,  and  perhaps  rather  to  the  south  of  them,  though  possibly  they  may  have 
been  on  the  western  side.  But  Zoar  certainly  was  on  the  east  side,  and  it  seems  more  in 
accordance  with  the  incidents  of  the  narrative  to  place  all  the  cities  on  the  same  side  of 
Jordan,  and  probably  at  no  great  distance  from  each  other.  Of  Admah  we  have  no  trace, 
though  it  has  been  conjecturally  identified  with  the  city  "Adam,"  near  Zarthan,  in  the 
plain  of  Succoth,  some  way  higher  up  and  too  far  to  harmonize  well  with  the  narrative. 
Now  one  remarkable  feature  of  this  "  Ciccar,"  or  plain  of  Jordan,  is  the  number  of  Tells,  or 
barren  artificial  mounds,  which  stud  it  on  both  sides.  They  recall  to  the  traveller  the  artificial 
mounds  on  which  the  villages  of  Egypt  are  planted  to  save  them  from  inundation.  They 
are  unquestionably  artificial,  for  in  all  which  have  been  examined  fragments  of  pottery  and 
traces  of  sun-dried  and  frequently  kiln-burnt  bricks  are  found.  In  some,  too,  fragments  of 
columns  and  dressed  stones  may  be  seen.  Very  probably  some  of  these  nameless  heaps  may 
mark  the  exact  site  of  the  doomed  cities.  Dr.  Merrill  has  recently  with  much  ingenuity 
suggested  five  sites  on  the  Shittim  plain,  to  all  of  which  names  are  attached  by  the  Arabs. 
Zoar  he  identifies  with  the  southernmost  mound.  Tell  Ektana  (from  the  Hebrew  katan, 
"  little"  ?),  and  probably  M'Shaggar,  a  spur  in  front  of  Nebo,  sheltered  the  little  city.  Zeboim 
is  placed  about  seven  miles  north-west  of  this  at  Tell  Shaib,  and  the  others  at  Tell  Kefrein, 
opposite  the  upper  ford  (Abel-Shittim),  at  Tell  Ramah,  and  Seweimeh,  or  Beth  Jesimoth. 
But  we  can  scarcely  expect  an  unquestioned  identification  for  any  one  excepting  Zoar,  which 
remained  to  after-times,  and  to  which  the  allusions  are  so  clear  as  to  shut  us  up  to  the  little 
corner  close  under  the  Moab  Mountains  for  our  investigation. 

But  we  have  lingered  long  enough  over  these  faint  traces  of  all  but  prehistoric  cities. 
22 


l62 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


When  we  come  to  places  which  still  existed  at  the  epoch  of  Joshua's  conquest  we  are  treading 
on  firmer  ground.  At  page  159  we  have  an  illustration  of  one  of  the  few  remaining  architec- 
tural ruins  of  the  plain  in  the  Convent  of  Kasr  Hajla,  the  ancient  Beth  Hogla.  Beth  Hogla 
is  only  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  on  the  boundary  line  between  Judah  and  Benjamin,  and 
belonging  to  the  latter.  The  only  trace  of  the  place,  which  must  always  have  been  insigni- 
ficant, is  the  name  which,  with  the  tenacity  of  Oriental  nomenclature,  still  clings  to  an  isolated 


BATHING-PLACE  ON  THE  JORDAN. 


spring,  Ain  Hajla.  Leaving  Er  Riha,  the  modern  Jericho,  and  crossing  a  stony  plain,  which 
might  with  very  little  care  and  irrigation  be  again  made  a  fertile  garden,  at  the  distance  of 
about  five  miles  we  come  upon  a  patch  of  perennial  verdure  with  a  few  inconspicuous  shrubs. 
In  the  centre  is  a  beautiful  clear  blue  pool  of  tepid  water  surrounded  by  an  old  wall  of  solid 
masonry  about  five  feet  in  circumference,  which  scarcely  reaches  above  the  ground,  and  over 
which  the  spring  pours  forth  its  stream  of  life.     It  is  utterly  neglected.    No  path  leads  to  it, 


KASR  HAJLA. 


VALLEY  OF  THE  JORDAN,  FROM  THE  CONVENT  OF 
ST.  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST. 
Known  also  as  Kasr-el-YehCid,  "  the  Jews'  Tower." 


IK)  list  is  mai-K  oi  u  by  man;  the 
wild  bociis  aloiK  iH([uent  it,  and 
paddle  down  the  surrounding  herbage. 
There  is  not  a  vestige  of  a  ruin,  but 
less  than  a  mile  distant  is  a  pile  of 
buildings  of  the  Christian  epoch, 
named  from  this  spring,  Kasr  Hajla, 
It  is  one  of  the  best-preserved  of  the 
curious  group  of  monasteries  founded 
in  and  around  this  district  by  Jerome 
and  his  followers.  It  is  sometimes  called  also 
Deir  Mar  Yuhanna,  or  the  monastery  of  St.  John. 
Roofless  and  crumbling,  its  inner  walls  still  retain 
not  only  traces  of  frescoes,  but  some  very  distinct 
figures  of  Greek  saints,  and  inscriptions  with  the 
colours  perfectly  fresh.    Many  of  the  arches  stand 


164 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


uninjured,  and  the  walls  and  outlines  of  the  chapel  can  be  distinctly  traced.  Of  the  history  of 
this  most  remarkable  ruin  very  little  is  known.  Jerome  mentions  a  monastery  at  Gilgal,  and 
it  is  said  to  have  been  two  miles  from  the  Jordan,  which  would  sufficiently  describe  this  site. 
It  appears  to  have  been  occupied  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  by  monks  of  the  order  of 
St.  Basil,  and  was  then  called  the  monastery  of  St.  Jerome.  From  that  period  we  find  no 
mention  of  it,  nor  any  record  of  its  being  inhabited  by  a  religious  order,  and  it  was  a  ruin 
pretty  much  in  its  present  condition  when  visited  by  Seetzen  at  the  beginning  of  this  century. 
It  was  probably  held  by  the  monks  during  the  Middle  Ages  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  Jordan 
pilgrims,  and  became  deserted  when  the  caravans  were  placed  under  escort  and  protection. 

From  Kasr  Hajla  a  ride  of  three-quarters  of  an  hour  brings  us-  on  a  desolate  expanse 
of  grey  salt  mud,  with  occasional  sand  mounds  burrowed  by  the  jerboa,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Jordan,  without  a  living  tree  to  enliven  it,  but  with  many  a  bare  bark-stripped  trunk 
projecting  out  of  the  slime,  on  the  naked  boughs  of  which  many  kingfishers  and  an  occasional 
cormorant  perch  to  watch  for  their  helpless  prey,  the  fishes  with  which  the  river  teems, 
and  which  incautiously  swimming  down  the  stream  become  stupified  as  soon  as  they  enter  the 
brine.  In  dry  weather  the  grey  mud  is  encrusted  with  salt  and  gypsum,  and  occasional  layers 
of  sulphur  and  oxide  of  iron.  No  wonder  that  Flora  declines  to  display  life  on  such  a  soil. 
But  whenever  a  little  sand-mound  has  collected,  there  a  few  desert  shrubs  plant  their  roots  and 
relieve  the  monotony.  The  river  itself  lies  completely  out  of  sight.  Never  except  from  some 
commanding  height  can  a  glimpse  be  caught  of  the  silvery  bead  which  marks  its  course  until 
within  two  or  three  miles  of  its  end  when  its  forest  fringe  ceases.  But  its  course  can  every- 
where be  traced  by  the  deep  green  ribbon  of  foliage  just  peering  above  the  upper  banks,  the 
tops  of  the  trees  which  guard  its  border.  All  along  this  lower  plain  there  are  three  sets  of 
terrace  banks.  The  old  bed  of  the  river,  or  rather  the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  where  the  mud 
deposits  were  laid  against  the  slopes  of  the  enclosing  mountains,  was  about  sixteen  miles  wide. 
This  is  the  plain  on  which  Jericho,  Beth  Hogla,  and  Gilgal  stood.  Then  we  have  the  higher  - 
plain,  which  even  now  on  rare  occasions  is  flooded.  This  is  covered  with  shrubs  and  scant 
herbage.  Then  close  to  the  river's  bank  we  descend  fifty-five  feet  into  a  dense  thicket  of 
tamarisk,  silver  poplar,  willows,  terebinth,  and  many  other  trees  strange  to  European  eyes, 
with  a  dense  and  impenetrable  undergrowth  of  reed  and  all  sorts  of  aquatic  brushwood.  This 
is  perforated  in  all  directions  by  the  runs  of  wild  boars,  which  literally  swarm  here,  while  the 
branches  are  vocal  with  myriads  of  birds — nightingales,  bulbuls,  and  especially  turtle-doves 
- — which  meet  here  and  find  abundant  food  in  the  herbaofe  of  the  trefoil,  astraa-alus,  and  other 
characteristic  plants  of  the  higher  plain.  In  ancient  times  beasts  more  formidable  than  the 
wild  boar  had  their  lair  in  these  coverts,  and  when  driven  out  by  the  periodical  swellings  of 
Jordan  the  lion  and  the  leopard  sought  their  prey  among  the  flocks  of  the  villagers  in  the 
country  above.  The  leopard  still  lingers  in  these  thickets,  and  an  observant  traveller  cannot 
explore  far  without  coming  on  its  traces,  especially  on  the  east  bank.  But  the  lion,  though  not 
extinct  in  the  times  of  the  Crusades,  has  long  been  exterminated  from  the  region  west  of  the 


THE  JORDAN. 


165 


Euphrates.  It  is  a  startling  contrast  suddenly  to  descend  into  this  narrow  belt  after  seeing 
the  black  stork  and  the  noble  Houbara  bustard  running  on  the  barren  plain  behind,  and  being 
startled  by  the  whirring  cry  of  the  desert  sandgrouse  as  it  started  in  front,  now  to  be  greeted 
by  the  trill  of  European  songster,  and  be  soothed  by  the  incessant  coo  of  the  turtle-dove  in  the 
glades.  Beneath  this  shade  the  Jordan,  generally  not  above  fifty  yards  wide,  hurries  on  in  its 
tortuous  but  rapid  course,  the  impetuous  stream,  muddy  and  dark,  dashing  from  side  to  side 
and  forming  curling  eddies  at  each  sharp  turn,  generally  most  difficult  to  stem,  and  in  most 
places  too  deep  to  ford,  having  generally  ten  feet  of  water.    It  is,  however,  easy  enough  for  an 


the  opposite  bank. 

The  mouth  of  the  Jordan  is  seldom  visited  except  by  European  travellers  ;  the  crowds 
of  pilgrims  visit  the  river  higher  up,  near  what  is  called  the  Helu  ford,  though  each  sect  of 
Christians  has  a  special  spot  for  the  completion  of  the  pilgrimage,  which  is  maintained  as  an 
article  of  faith  to  be  the  place  of  our  Saviour's  baptism.  Fortunately,  as  the  Latin  and 
Greek  Easters  do  not  fall  on  the  same  days,  and  as  Easter  is  the  prescribed  time  for  the 
ceremony,  there  are  no  collisions  on  the  banks  of  the  sacred  river.  The  Greek  pilgrims 
bathe  at  a  spot  where  there  is  a  narrow  clearing  down  to  the  water's  edge  ;  the  Latin  sacred 
place  is  higher  up,  near  the  ruins  of  an  old  convent.  The  ceremony  is  most  interesting  and 
picturesque  from  the  start  from  Jerusalem  to  the  return.     In  former  times  the  crowd  of 


i66 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


pilgrims  was  said  to  number  hundreds  of  thousands ;  and  even  now  they  amount  to  several 
thousands.  The  day  fixed  is  Easter  Monday,  and  the  Turkish  Government  have  for  many 
ages  guaranteed  the  safe  conduct  of  the  convoy.  It  starts  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  in  front  of  which  the  pilgrims  generally  assemble,  preceded  by 
a  white  flag  and  noisy  instruments  ;  the  rearguard  being  composed  of  Turkish  troops  with  the 
green  flag  of  the  Prophet.  The  number  of  pilgrims  at  the  Greek  Easter  now  rarely  reaches 
five  thousand,  though  it  is  said  that  formerly  ten  thousand  joined  the  procession.  A  merry 
joyous  crowd  they  seem,  the  roar  of  voices  often  drowning  the  incessant  clatter  of  the  tom- 
toms in  front  and  rear.  Few  of  them  are  on  foot  except  the  Russian  peasants.  Every  kind 
of  quadruped,  camel,  horse,  mule,  and  ass,  has  been  impressed  for  the  occasion,  and  the  hapless 
camels  flounder  down  the  steep  descent  to  Jericho  with  huge  baskets  full  of  women  and 
children  on  either  side.  The  Bedouin  of  the  neighbourhood  hangs  about  the  desert  cliffs 
and  dells  ready  to  cut  off  any  incautious  straggler,  and  to  send  him  to  rejoin  the  convoy 
prematurely  stripped  for  his  bathe.  Against  these  ' marauders  was  formed  the  company  of 
nine  knights  who  became  the  founders  of  the  historic  order  of  the  Templars.  Arrived  long 
before  sunset  at  Er  Riha,  the  modern  Jericho,  but  really  near  the  ancient  Gilgal,  the  motley 
crowd  bivouacs  for  the  night. 

A  stroll  among  the  tented  and  untented  groups  will  afford  one  of  the  most  varied  and 
picturesque  scenes  which  even  in  that  land  of  the  picturesque  the  traveller  can  encounter. 
Every  costume,  from  the  sheepskin-clad  and  odoriferous  Russian  to  the  bright  dresses 
of  the  Bulgarians,  the  quaint  robes  of  the  Georgians,  the  brilliant  colours  of  the  Greek, 
and  the  solid  richness  of  the  Armenian,  is  collected  from  all  Eastern  Europe  and 
Western  Asia.  But  soon  all  is  hushed,  and  the  camp  fires  are  smouldering  embers,  and 
the  long  straggling  camp,  stretching  some  three  miles  across  the  plain,  is  buried  in  sleep, 
recalling  the  encampment  of  Israel  first  pitched  at  Gilgal,  this  very  spot.  Long  before 
sunrise,  about  three  o'clock,  there  is  a  sudden  roll  of  kettledrums,  and  lights  are  struck  all 
over  the  plain.  There  is  none  of  the  merriment  of  the  preceding  day,  but  by  torchlight,  in 
solemn  silence,  with  the  paschal  moon  hanging  forward  out  of  the  deep  black  sky  and 
dimming  the  glare  of  the  torches,  the  mixed  multitude  presses  on  to  the  bank  of  the  sacred 
river.  Just  after  daybreak  the  head  of  the  procession  reaches  the  open  space  on  the  river's 
bank,  and  before  the  sun  has  well  overtopped  the  hills  of  Moab  the  first-comers  are  plunging 
in  the  whirling  eddies  of  the  turbid  stream.  Some  dash  in  naked  and  exhibit  their  prowess, 
acquired  perhaps  in  the  distant  Nile  or  its  Abyssinian  feeders,  as  they  strike  or  seem  to 
strike  across  with  their  arms  backwards  and  forwards.  Most,  however,  of  those  who  have 
come  in  families  bathe  in  a  long  white  garment,  which  after  this  Jordan  baptism  is  carefully 
preserved  till  it  serves  as  the  winding-sheet  of  its  owner.  I  have  noticed  devout  families 
joining  hand-in-hand  in  a  circle  in  the  water,  the  women  having  their  babes  slung  round  their 
neck,  and  reciting  the  creed,  ducking  at  each  sentence,  while  they  hold  on  to  the  overhanging 
boughs.  One  remarkable  feature  is  the  number  of  little  children  and  infants  ;  but  the  age  of 
the  pilgrim  matters  not,  and  the  Jordan  baptism  never  needs  to  be  repeated.     Primitive  and 


THE  JORDAN. 


167 


rude  the  scene  may  be  called,  but  there  is  no  indecorum  or  irreverence,  and  very  little  super- 
stition— nothing  like  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  Who  that  has 
stood  by  the  brink  of  that  river  could  have  turned  back  without  having  washed  in  Jordan  ? 
Who  is  so  utterly  devoid  of  sentiment  as  not  to  sympathize  with  that  pilgrim  multitude  ? 
and  who  can  look  on  the  Eastern  baptism  without  feeling  how  he  has  reproduced  before  his 
own  eyes  the  scenes  and  the  surroundings  that  accompanied  the  preaching  and  the  baptism 

on  this  river-bank  of  the  great  fore- 
runner, St.  John  Baptist. 

The  ceremony  is  not  a  long  one. 


\ 

\ 

BIT  ON  THE  PLAINS  OF  JERICHO. 

After  it  is  over  every  one  cuts  a  stick  or 
bough  to  preserve  in  memory  of  the  visit  (a 
palmer's  staff )  ;  and  most  come  provided 
with  a  bottle,  which  is  filled  from  the  sacred 
stream.     Silently  the  crowds  remount  and 

gradually  depart  ;  the  last  Turkish  fez  has  closed  the  rear-guard  two  hours  before  noon. 
The  camp  of  the  previous  night  is  reoccupied,  and  the  pilgrims  rest  and  sleep  till  sunset, 
when  they  eat  their  evening  meal.  At  dead  of  night  they  set  out,  roused  by  the  kettledrum, 
and  in  silence  resume  their  march  back  to  Jerusalem.  The  last  act  of  the  great  pilgrimage 
has  been  completed,  and  every  one  of  the  caravan  is  now  a  true  "  palmer." 


i68 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


How  long  these  pilgrimages  have  existed  the  ruins  of  the  monasteries  which  stud  the 
lower  part  of  the  Jordan  valley  bear  witness.    One  of  these,  the  Convent  of  St.  John,  from 


which  the  view  on  page 
163  is  taken,  is  close  to 
the  Latin  bathing-place, 
and  some  little  way  above 
that  held  to  by  the  Greeks,  and  where  the 
scenes  just  described  take  place.    The  Moslems 
call  this  convent  Kasr-el-Yehud— "  the  Jews' 
tower."    It  was  undoubtedly  to  the  sacredness 
of  the  bathing-places  that  these  monasteries 
owed   their   existence  in    the   first  instance. 
Gradually,  as   the   pilgrimage  became,  under 
Moslem  rule,  a   somewhat    perilous  journey, 
they  were  maintained  as  a  sort  of  religious 
garrison  for  the  reception  and  protection  of 
pilgrims;  but  when  the  customary  bathing  became  confined  to  Eastertide  exclusively,  and 


ER  RIHA,  THE  MODERN  JERICHO. 
On  the  Site  of  the  "New  Jericho"  of  the  Crusaders. 


JERICHO. 


169 


the  Turkish  Government,  from  the  mixed  motives  of  gain  and  of  conciliating  the  Christian 
powers,  organized  and  protected  the  caravans,  there  was  no  longer  any  necessity  for  a  perma- 
nent guard,  and  the  excessive  unhealthiness  of  the  Ghor  caused  the  monasteries  to  be  speedily 
abandoned,  and  the  monks  were  withdrawn  to  such  healthier  and  safer  retreats  as  Mar  Saba 
and  Mar  Elyas.    St.  Jerome,  to  whom,  directly  or  indirectly,  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  ascribe 


ONE  OF  THE  ARCHES  OF  AN  AQUEDUCT  OVER  THE  WADY  KELT,  PLAINS  OF  JERICHO. 
The  stream  is  popularly  known  as  the  Brook  Cherith. 

every  religious  institution  in  Palestine,  was  certainly  by  his  example  the  origin  of  the  monas- 
teries of  the  Jordan  valley  in  their  early  form,  when  the  ascetic  hermits  began  to  group 
themselves  into  "lauras."  Yet  Jerome  himself  was  no  devotee  of  unmeaning  pilgrimages. 
He  declared  that  Heaven  may  be  reached  from  Britain  as  easily  as  from  Jerusalem,  that  an 
innumerable  throng  of  saints  never  saw  the  holy  city,  and  that  the  sacred  places  themselves 
23 


170 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


have  been  polluted  by  the  images  of  idols.  It  may  excite  surprise  that  the  buildings  of  the 
Christian  period  should  be  so  numerous  and  so  noble  as  are  these  monasteries.  But  this  is 
explained  when  we  remember  how  in  the  period  that  succeeded  their  foundation  by  Jerome 
and  his  immediate  followers  Palestine  enjoyed  an  epoch  of  exceptional  quiet  amid  the  ravages 
of  the  northern  barbarians  in  the  rest  of  the  Roman  empire.  Nor  was  the  calm  broken  till 
the  storm  of  Chosroes  and  his  exterminating  Persians  burst  upon  the  hapless  East  at  the  end 
of  the  sixth  century.  Then  all  these  monasteries  were  sacked  and  fired,  and  their  inmates 
butchered.  Ere  the  country  could  recover  itself,  within  fifty  years,  a  yet  more  fatal  though 
less  cruel  war  of  conquest  swept  over  Palestine  in  the  Caliph  Omar  and  his  Moslem  Arabs. 
The  Moslem  did  not  exterminate  the  Christian  or  forbid  his  rites.  Some  of  the  monasteries 
were  permitted  to  be  repaired  and  reoccupied,  but  the  cost  was  great  and  the  Christian  popu- 
lation utterly  impoverished.  Then  came  a  transient  burst  of  spasmodic  prosperity,  when  the 
Crusaders  erected  their  sugar-mills  and  cultivated  this  rich  Jordan  valley.  When  the 
Mohammedan  sway  was  re-established  the  monasteries  soon,  as  above  stated,  became  useless. 

As  we  pass  across  the  narrow  belt  of  open  plain  which  intervenes  between  the  Monastery 
of  St.  John  and  the  oasis  of  Jericho,  we  step  back  from  mediaeval  remains  to  the  mounds  of 
primaeval  history.  Jericho,  "  the  City  of  Palm-trees,"  was  the  contemporary  of  the  doomed 
Cities  of  the  Plain,  and  whatever  doubt  may  hang  over  their  exact  position,  there  is  none 
whatever  on  the  Jericho  of  the  prophets.  In  speaking  of  Jericho  we  must  bear  in  mind  that 
the  name  is  claimed  by  three  distinct  cities  of  different  ages,  succeeding  one  another.  First, 
there  is  the  old  Canaanitish  city,  destroyed  by  Joshua  and  rebuilt  by  Hiel,  the  resort  of  Elijah 
and  Elisha ;  secondly,  the  Jericho  of  the  Herods  and  of  the  JNTew  Testament;  and  thirdly, 
Er  Riha,  the  crusading  and  modern  representative,  the  name,  strangely  different  as  it  sounds 
in  its  English  rendering,  being  the  Arabic  equivalent  of  the  old  Hebrew  Jericho. 

The  first  of  these,  and  by  far  the  most  interesting,  is  that  to  which  we  will  direct  our 
steps  on  our  return  from  the  fords  of  Jordan  at  Helu.  From  the  ruined  monastery  by  the 
river,  Kasr-el-Yehud  (see  page  163),  where  the  great  cistern  on  which  the  colony  depended 
for  its  water  supply  is  still  nearly  perfect,  we  may  trace  the  utterly  ruined  aqueduct  by  which 
it  was  supplied  from  the  famous  Prophet's  Fountain.  Of  the  seven  monasteries  recorded  in 
history  in  the  plain  the  ruins  of  five  are  known,  but  of  these  only  three  are  identified.  They 
are  all  a  little  to  the  south  of  our  course.  Looking  at  this  barren  plain,  with  its  occasional 
copses  of  thorn-tree  (zukkum)  and  Spina  Christi,  we  may  wonder  how  a  considerable 
population  could  ever  have  existed  until  we  notice  the  remains  of  their  aqueducts,  no  less  than 
twelve  of  which  have  been  traced  and  mapped  by  Lieut.  Conder.  When  we  leave  the  upper 
channel  of  the  river  not  a  tree  or  blade  of  grass,  only  a  few  shrubs  with  microscopic  foliage, 
are  visible  till  we  reach  the  oasis  of  old  Jericho,  Ain-es-Sultan.  Yet  the  plain  is  not  level. 
It  is  studded  with  desert  islands — flat-topped  mounds  of  salt-encumbered  marl  without  a 
particle  of  vegetation,  and  the  crumbling  sides  of  which  are  yearly  being  washed  by  the  floods 
back  into  the  Jordan,  which  once  deposited  them.    At  length  we  come  upon  a  few  scattered 


JERICHO. 


171 


prickly  jujube-bushes,  then  upon  a  rude  fence  of  boughs  thrown  lightly  on  the  ground,  but 
impenetrable  from  the  sharp  recurved  thorns  with  which  every  twig  is  studded.  An  artificial 
rill  of  water  nurtures  the  crop,  and  we  are  within  the  slovenly  farmed  oasis  of  Jericho.  We 
ride  through  a  varied  wilderness  of  indescribable  luxuriance,  the  little  plots  of  corn,  melons, 
or  tobacco  interspersed  among  a  dense  tangle  of  false  balsam-tree  {Balanitis  Mgyptiaca)  or 
zukkum,  agnus  casti,  and  dom-tree,  not  to  omit  the  apple  of  Sodom  {Solaniun  melongena),  with 
its  potato-blossom  and  bright  red  or  yellow  fruit.  Yet  among  all  these  where  are  the  trees 
from  which  Jericho  of  old  obtained  its  name,  its  fame,  and  its  wealth — the  palm  ?  Not  one 
remains.  There  are  no  stragglers  in  that  wild  and  thorny  tangle  which  have  survived  from 
the  destruction  of  the  gardens  of  Cleopatra ;  not  one  sorghum  stem  springs  by  the  water-side 
as  a  relic  of  the  plantations  which  yielded  vast  revenues  to  the  Knights  of  Jerusalem  ;  no 
balsam-tree  lingers  in  the  maze  of  shrubbery ;  and,  above  all,  the  last  palm  has  gone,  and  its 
graceful  feathery  crown  waves  no  more  over  the  plain,  which  once  gave  to  Jericho  its  name 
of  the  City  of  Palm-trees.  Immediately  in  front  towers  the  Ouarantania,  the  Mount  of 
Temptation,  with  its  precipitous  face  pierced  in  every  direction  by  ancient  cells  and  chapels, 
and  the  ruined  church  on  its  topmost  peak.  We  halt  in  front  of  the  famous  spring,  the 
Prophet's  Fountain,  Ain-es-Sultan  (see  page  172),  shaded  by  a  fine  fig-tree,  where  an  immense 
volume  of  clear  warm  water,  84°  Fahr.,  very  pure,  and  swarming  with  fish,  bursts  from  the 
shingle  at  the  foot  of  a  great  mound,  evidently  artificial,  and  composed  of  the  remains  of 
ancient  Jericho,  full  of  fragments  of  pottery  and  frequent  morsels  of  nacreous  glass.  Behind 
the  spring,  and  partially  enclosing  it,  is  a  ruined  edifice,  apparently  a  small  Roman  temple  ; 
and  strewn  about  are  fragments  of  shafts  and  Byzantine  capitals.  The  copious  stream  is 
tapped  within  fifty  yards  of  its  exit  by  various  artificial  watercourses,  through  which  the  Arabs 
lead  the  life-giving  liquid  from  time  to  time  over  their  patches  of  cultivation,  through  jungles 
of  cane  and  tamarisk.  From  the  great  "  tell,"  or  mound  of  ruins,  the  ground  steadily  rises 
till  we  reach  the  foot  of  Jebel  Quarantania  (see  page  173).  Old  Jericho  stood  midway 
between  the  pass  up  to  Jerusalem  on  the  south  and  the  passes  of  Benjamin  towards  Bethel  on 
the  north.  There  are  three  great  springs  which  water  it,  and  as  we  look  towards  the  hills  we 
can  see  how  easily  Joshua's  spies  could  avoid  observation  as  they  stole  up  through  the  ravine 
choked  with  jungle  and  cane-brake  to  Ain-duk,  and  thence  to  the  mountain,  amidst  the  caves 
and  ravines  of  which  they  might  be  searched  for  in  vain.  In  the  oasis  of  Jericho,  whose 
beauty  was  such  that  Wisdom  compares  herself  with  its  rose-plants  (Ecclus.  xxiv.  14),  Strabo 
tells  us  that  for  the  space  of  a  hundred  stadia  by  twenty,  opobalsamum,  henna,  myrrh,  and  all 
sorts  of  spices  were  grown. 

_  From  the  Prophet's  Fountain  we  may  set  out  to  search  for  the  traces  of  Gilgal,  the 
neighbour  and  contemporary  of  the  older  city.  It  had  long  passed  away  from  history, 
and  its  name  was  almost  lost  to  local  memory,  when  a  German  traveller  recovered  it  in  a 
mound  called  Tell  Jiljul,  and  an  artificial  pond,  Birket  Jiljulia.  It  is  on  the  direct  road 
to  the  upper  ford  at  the  Convent  of  St.   John,  about  four  and  a  half  miles  from  it, 


172 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


outside  the  cultivation  of  the  oasis,  and  not  quite  one  and  a  half  mile  from  the  modern 
Jericho,  or  Er  Riha.  The  situation  exactly  meets  the  requirements  of  the  history  of  Joshua, 
and  points  to  the  place  where  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  was  made.  It  was  here  that  the 
Israelites  erected  twelve  stones  in  memory  of  their  passage,  and  here  the  rite  of  circumcision 


AIN-ES-SULTAN,  THE  SULTAN'S  SPRING. 
Commonly  called  the  Fountain  of  Elisha,  or  the  Prophet's  Fountain. 

was  renewed.  The  pool  is  built  of  walls  without  mortar,  about  forty  yards  in  diameter,  and 
there  are  about  a  dozen  small  mounds,  three  or  four  feet  high  and  evidently  very  ancient, 
scattered  within  a  space  of  a  mile.  They  are  called  generally  "  the  city  of  brass,"  but  also 
Jiljulieh,  and  it  has  been  conjectured  that  they  may  be  the  remains  of  the  Israelites'  fortified 


JERICHO.  175 
and  the  Bedouin  in. spring  to  pasture.    The  chief  resource  of  the  population  now  is  the 


RUINED  CONVENT  OF  ST.  GEORGE. 
In  the  Wady  Kelt. 


backsheesh  obtained  from 
travellers  for  the  perform- 
ance of  their  zikkars,  or 
native  dances.  Near  the 
gardens  and  plots  round 
the  villages  may  be  noticed 
many  of  the  tropical  plants 
which  are  the  most  striking 
natural  features  of  the  district. 
Not  only  the  two  kinds  of 
zizyphus-trees,  the  dom  and  the 
nubk,  the  false  balsam,  the 
oleaster,  and  the  gum-arabic 
acacia,  but  the  gorgeous  Loraii- 
tJius  indicus,  a  scarlet  parasite 
of  striking  beauty,  is  abundant  on  the  trees,  and  the  apple 
of  Sodom  abounds  everywhere,  while  there  are  occasional 
plants  of  the  curious  Nubian  asclepiad,  the  "  osher,"  with 
its  hollow  puff  balls  filled  with  silky  cotton  fibre  and  used 
for  their  matchlocks  by  the  Bedouin. 


176 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


Leaving  the  sites  of  the  deserted  Cities  of  the  Plain,  we  ascend  from  the  Prophet's 
Fountain  to  Quarantania,  following  the  course  of  an  aqueduct  still  full  of  water,  brought  down 
from  Ain  Duk,  and  passing  the  ruins  of  extensive  mills.  Besides  the  road  to  Jerusalem  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Wady  Kelt,  no  less  than  three  mountain  tracks  leading  into  the  hills  of 
Benjamin  all  start  from  this  point :  one,  the  southernmost,  along  the  edge  of  the  crags  between 
the  Quarantania  and  Wady  Kelt  to  Deir  Diwan  and  Ai  ;  a  second  turns  north  and,  passing 
Ain  Duk,  ascends  to  Taiyibeh,  with  a  branch  to  Rummon,  the  ancient  Rimmon ;  the  third  runs 
straight  up  from  Ain  Duk  to  Deir  Diwan,  and  thus  joins  the  first.  We  can  hardly  doubt 
which  of  these  was  the  route  taken  by  Joshua  and  the  army  of  Israel,  when  after  the  fall  of 
Jericho  they  advanced  into  the  interior  highlands.  It  must  have  been  by  the  first  path,  since  they 
came  to  Ai  before  Bethel.  By  this  track  passed  Samuel  on  his  way  to  Gibeah  of  Benjamin  ; 
and  down  this  mountain  path  Elijah  and  Elisha  descended  together  for  the  last  time.  But 
Mount  Quarantania  derives  its  fame  from  later  events,  and  from  the  not  unnatural  tradition 
that  here  was  the  wilderness,  the  scene  of  our  Lord's  temptation  after  His  baptism.  Certainly 
a  spot  more  apparently  remote  from  the  haunts  of  men  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  any 
populous  neighbourhood.  Though  by  no  means  the  highest  point  of  the  range,  no  other  has 
so  abrupt  a  face,  nor  one  so  admirably  adapted  for  the  construction  of  the  hermits'  dwellings 
which  stud  its  front  towards  the  Jordan,  and  also  towards  the  Kelt.  There  are  few  more 
impressive  views  in  Palestine  than  may  be  obtained  in  the  clear  bright  atmosphere  when 
pausing  in  the  ascent  of  Quarantania.  The  debris,  which  rises  some  two  hundred  feet  above 
Ain-es-Sultan,  slopes  from  our  feet  to  the  oasis.  Beyond  it  is  the  desert  plain,  then  the  Jordan 
belt,  the  plains  of  Shittim,  and  the  bold  headlands  of  Ajalon  and  of  the  Moabite  range,  Hesbon 
and  Nebo  rising  straight  from  the  north  end  of  the  sea.  At  our  back  rises  the  yellow  cliff, 
the  bluff  of  Quarantania,  perhaps  nine  hundred  or  one  thousand  feet  sheer.  The  great  griffon 
vultures,  singly  or  in  parties,  sail  majestically  past  us  backwards  and  forwards,  spreading  their 
wings  ten  feet  across  ;  the  cliff  swallows  and  swifts  dash  with  their  sharp  scream  within  a  few 
inches  of  our  faces  ;  and  the  clear  ringing  note  of  the  orange-winged  grakle  from  time  to  time 
seems  to  startle  the  caverns  with  its  echo.  In  front  of  many  of  the  cells  seats  have  been 
scooped  out  of  the  rock,  where  the  anchorites  might  sit  and  meditate.  On  this  eastern  face 
there  are  about  forty  habitable  caves  and  chapels,  and  a  very  much  larger  number  on  the  south 
side.  Many  of  them  communicate  internally  with  each  other.  They  have  been  approached 
by  staircases  and  paths  hewn  out  of  the  face  of  the  rock,  but  time  and  water  have  worn  many 
of  them  away,  and  left  the  upper  caverns  in  some  cases  wholly  inaccessible.  The  lowest  tier  is 
just  above  the  top  of  the  sloping  debris,  and  the  chambers  are  still  tenanted  by  the  Arabs  for 
sheepfolds  and  stables,  sometimes  as  granaries.  The  next  tier,  whither  still  a  few  Copts  and 
Abyssinian  pilgrims  come  every  Lent  and  keep  their  forty-days'  fast,  on  the  spot  where 
they  believe  our  Lord  to  have  fasted,  is  easily  accessible  by  the  sloping  niche  in  the  cliff-side. 
The  cells  are  a  series  of  chambers,  each  having  recesses  hollowed  out  for  sleeping-places, 
altar,  and  cupboard.      Many  of  them  communicate  with  a  series  of  chambers  above  by  a 


THE  WADY  KELT. 


177 


178 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


hole  in  the  roof,  and  we  have  found  even  three  consecutive  stories  one  above  the  other. 
Generally  there  is  a  chapel  in  the  centre  of  each  group,  and  hermits'  cells  running  on  either 
side  of  it.  Frequently  there  is  an  inner  dark  chamber  behind  the  cells.  In  these  we  found 
many  skeletons  lying  east  and  west  in  undisturbed  order,  awaiting  the  resurrection,  desiccated 
rather  than  decayed.  Each  anchorite  thus  dwelt  almost  in  his  grave,  and  many  generations 
seemed  to  have  succeeded  each  other.  Higher  up  again  are  a  third,  and  above  these  a  fourth 
series  of  aerial  human  dwellings,  some  of  them  now,  by  the  wearing  away  of  the  paths,  quite 
inaccessible.  One  of  the  upper  series  can  still  with  some  difficulty  be  reached.  In  it  we 
found  beneath  a  slab  in  the  flooring  a  dark  dungeon,  which  had  also  been  a  burial  vault,  and 
was  full  of  bones.  The  front  of  the  inhabited  chamber  was  vaulted  with  good  masonry,  and 
had  an  arched  doorway  into  an  adjacent  chapel.  The  apse  of  the  chapel  was  hewn  out  of 
the  rock  facing  eastward,  with  a  fresco  of  the  Virgin  in  the  concave,  and  a  small  pointed 
window  below.  On  each  side  of  the  apse  was  a  little  arched  niche,  piscina  or  credence  table. 
The  walls  of  all  the  chapels  and  of  many  of  the  cells  are  covered  with  fresco  figures  of  saints, 
the  colours  being  still  bright  and  fresh.  We  observed  that  all  the  lower  stories  in  the 
mountains  have  been  visited  by  iconoclast  Moslems,  for  all  the  faces  of  the  figures  are 
mutilated  and  almost  obliterated,  while  those  in  the  upper  stories  have  escaped.  In  all  the 
chapels  the  figure  of  the  angel  Gabriel  occupies-  the  right  side  at  the  east  end,  and  generally 
the  figure  of  our  Lord  the  centre.  Nowhere  is  the  Virgin  and  Child  represented.  St.  Paul, 
St.  Andrew,  Gregory,  Basil,  Chrysostom  occur,  especially  Athanasius,  *'  the  holy  Athanasius, 
the  witness  for  the  truth  "  ('O  a7/o9  kQavaaio<;  t>/?  aXijOeia^  jmapTv^)  being  the  legend.  The  mode 
in  which  the  hermits  were  supplied  with  water  was  very  ingenious.  From  the  top  of  the 
mountain  above  and  from  the  slopes  below  the  crest,  small  carefully  cemented  channels  are 
constructed  in  the  face  of  the  cliff,  which  collected  and  conveyed  supplies  of  rain  water  to 
cisterns  constructed  inside  the  cells.  The  whole  construction  of  this  city  of  ascetic  habitations, 
and  especially  the  style  and  subjects  of  the  frescoes,  point  to  a  period  which  is  isolated  from 
either  the  Roman,  Crusading,  or  modern  history  of  the  land.  When  we  observe  the  type  of 
the  frescoes,  and  the  prominence  given  to  the  great  fathers  in  the  Arian  controversy,  all 
contemporaries  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  and  all  owing  their  favour  to  the  part 
they  took  in  that  controversy,  may  we  not  ascribe  the  date  of  these  excavations  to  the  period 
when  that  fierce  struggle  was  at  its  height,  and  probably,  too,  to  the  hands  of  those  who  fled 
for  safety  and  seclusion  from  the  Arian  persecution  to  these  solitudes  ?  It  is  remarkable, 
also,  that  we  could  not  find  any  portraiture  of  St.  Jerome  among  the  frescoes.  This  leads  to 
the  conjecture  that  they  were  executed  before  his  canonization.  At  least  it  is  strange  that 
one  whose  name  and  fame  is  so  indissolubly  interwoven  with  every  part  of  this  district 
should  have  been  forgotten  by  orthodox  Christian  devotees.  They  were  probably  closely 
connected  with  the  innumerable  societies  of  ascetics  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  which  may 
explain  why,  whilst  they  are  still  resorted  to  with  reverence  by  devotees  from  Egypt  and 
Abyssinia,  they- are  in  no  way  reverenced  or  regarded  by  the  members  of  the  Greek  Church, 


THE  WADY  KELT. 


179 


which  could  scarcely  have  been  the  case  had  they  been  traditionally  connected  with  the 
monasteries  of  the  Jordan  plain. 

But  let  us  now  pass  round  the  shoulder  of  Mount  Ouarantania  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Wady  Harith,  down  which  Abraham  and  Lot  descended  to  the  fair  plain  of  the  Jordan,  and 
in  the  gorges  of  which  Joshua  placed  his  ambuscade  for  his  assault  of  Ai.  Here,  facing  south, 
we  find  even  more  anchorite  dwellings  than  on  the  eastward  bluff,  and  provided  with  water  by 
a  like  system,  though  here  drawn  directly  from  the  aqueduct  which  collected  and  economized 
the  supply  of  the  upper  part  of  the  valley.  Passing  about  a  mile  farther  south  we  reach  the 
opening  of  the  Wady  Kelt,  by  the  edge  of  which,  on  the  south,  runs  the  road  from  Jerusalem, 
and  which  was  the  tribal  boundary  between  Judah  and  Benjamin.  No  language  can  ade- 
quately describe  the  rugged  wildness  of  this  glen.  It  is  the  only  one  west  of  Jordan  which  in 
its  depth  and  seclusion  and  its  perennial  verdure  rivals  the  gorges  of  the  Arnon  and  Callirrhoe 
on  the  opposite  side  Jordan.  In  many  parts  it  is  simply  a  fissure  with  a  perennial  stream  at 
the  bottom,  to  which  the  sun  can  never  penetrate  save  for  a  few  minutes,  and  which  is  shaded 
by  a  thick  row  of  luxuriant  oleanders.  Its  sides  are  unscalable  save  by  the  ibex  and  the 
coney,  which  are  both  found  here,  secure  from  the  attacks  of  the  hunter.  This  dell  is  their 
northernmost  limit  in  Palestine.  Yet  this  glen,  like  the  face  of  Quarantania,  was  seized  on 
and  occupied  by  the  anchorites.  The  Deir  Wady  Kelt,  as  it  is  now  called,  was  one  of  the 
seven  monasteries  of  the  Jericho  circle  dedicated  to  St.  John  of  Choseboth,  and  it  has  evidently 
been  inhabited  down  to  a  much  later  period  than  the  caves  we  have  been  describing.  The  old 
Greek  frescoes  have  frequently  been  covered  over  with  fresh  paintings  having  Arabic  writing. 
There  is  still  an  inscription  in  Greek  and  Arabic,  or  Coptic,  over  the  doorway,  but  it  gives  no 
date,  merely  stating  that  the  monastery  was  restored  by  one  Abraham  and  his  brothers,  of  the 
Christian  village  of  Jufna.  We  may  at  least  infer  that  it  has  been  inhabited  by  monks  since 
the  Saracenic  conquest.  Wilder  still,  if  possible,  than  the  situation  of  the  monastery  of  Wady 
Kelt  is  that  of  Deir-el-Mukellik,  in  a  ravine  a  little  farther  south,  not  far  from  the  road  to 
Nebi  Musa,  the  great  point  of  Moslem  pilgrimages  just  south  of  the  road  from  Jerusalem. 
Its  remains  are  insignificant,  but  there  are  many  rock-hewn  cells,  and  a  visit  to  it  gives  a  yet 
clearer  conception  of  the  vast  amount  of  zeal,  devotion,  and  energy  that  once  peopled  with  a 
multitude  of  self-sacrificing  devotees  this  now  desolate  wilderness.  But  the  remains  in  the 
Wady  Kelt  are  not  confined  to  monastery  and  hermits'  cells  alone.  On  the  extreme  edge  of 
the  hills  to  the  north  are  the  remains  of  a  Crusading  fortress,  and  all  down  the  ravine  on  both 
sides  are  noble  aqueducts,  in  some  parts  remaining,  at  three  different  levels,  and  sometimes 
spanning  the  valley.  One  of  the  aqueducts  on  the  north  side  was  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  the  anchorites  and  monastery,  and  leads  to  an  immense  vaulted  cistern  in  three 
compartments.  The  other  aqueducts,  far  more  ancient,  were  those  by  which  Herod  supplied 
his  newly  built  Jericho.  The  Wady  Kelt  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  the  brook  Cherith 
(see  page  169),  where  Elijah  was  fed  by  ravens,  and  many  ingenious  arguments  have  been 
adduced  in  support  of  the  theory.     One  is  that  the  name  'Oreb,  or  raven,  still  clings  to 


i8o 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


one  of  the  overhanging  peaks.  But  "  The  Raven's  Crag"  is  a  name  naturally  suggested  for 
any  cliff  where  the  raven  has  taken  up  its  permanent  quarters.  This  gorge  is  the  home  of 
the  raven  as  Quarantania  is  of  the  griffon  vulture.  But  the  raven  is  universally  spread  over 
the  whole  country  wherever  there  are  cliffs  or  ravines,  and  ravens'  crags  are  not  peculiar 
to  the  Kelt.  However  admirably  suited  for  a  hiding-place,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  Elijah 
should  have  fled  to  a  place  so  out  of  the  natural  order  of  the  narrative.  It  was  a  place 
opposite  Jordan,  and  the  other  claimant,  the  Wady  Yabis,  on  the  other  side,  facing  Bethshean, 
and  in  Elijah's  native  district,  seems  a  more  probable  locality.  But  one  other  scriptural 
incident  is  undoubtedly  connected  with  the  Kelt.  It  is  the  valley  of  Achor  in  which 
Achan  was  stoned — not,  of  course,  in  the  gorge  or  upper  ravine,  but  on  the  open  plain, 
where  the  brook  runs  south  of  Er  Riha,  past  Jiljulieh,  to  the  Jordan  (see  page  177).  It 
would  be  in  view  of  the  Israelitish  camp,  and  the  valley  is  full  of  pebbles  and  boulders 
of  every  size,  which  would  account  for  its  being  chosen  as  the  place  of  execution,  since 
there  is  hardly  a  stone  to  be  found  in  the  surrounding  plain  beyond  the  limits  of  this 
torrent  bed. 

Though  the  road  by  the  south  brink  of  the  Kelt  is  by  no  means  the  most  picturesque 
or  interesting  of  the  passes  from  the  upper  country  to  the  Jordan  Valley,  yet  it  has  been 
for  over  two  thousand  years  almost  the  only  route  commonly  used  to  reach  the  plains.  It 
is  only  a  short  day's  ride,  but  the  descent  is  most  rapid  and  continuous.  It  is  but  thirteen 
miles  in  a  straight  line  to  Jericho,  yet  the  fall  is  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty  feet, 
and  four  hundred  feet  more  to  the  Dead  Sea.  The  road  is  said  to  be  still  as  dangerous 
as  when  it  supplied  our  Lord  with  the  scene  for  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  and 
no  doubt  the  wild  ravines  and  gorges,  labyrinthic  in  their  plans  and  honeycombed  with 
caverns,  afford  cover  for  freebooters  which  could  nowhere  be  surpassed.  But  though  to 
a  Bedouin  the  temptation  to  pillage  is  generally  irresistible,  he  is  amenable  to  the  laws  for 
the  regulation  of  robbery  to  which  he  has  been  an  assenting  party.  Thus  the  traveller 
who  has  engaged  a  guard  (and  it  need  be  only  a  nominal  one,  so  long  as  the  regulation 
fee  has  been  paid)  from  the  recognised  authority — which  is  not  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment, but  the  Sheikh  of  Abou  Dis,  near  Bethany,  the  representative  of  the  Ghwarneh 
tribe — may  roam  in  perfect  safety  so  long  as  he  abides  within  the  limits  of  his  jurisdiction, 
and  no  one  will  molest  him.  But  should  he,  e.g.,  incautiously  cross  the  wady,  which 
happens  to  be  a  frontier  line,  and  be  suddenly  pounced  upon  and  sent  back  in  the 
costume  of  his  birth,  he  has  only  himself  to  blame  for  his  loss.  The  writer,  when 
once  he  had  placed  himself  under  the  protection  of  the  tribes,  and  was  spending  several 
weeks  in  the  Jordan  Valley,  was  in  the  habit  of  frequently  riding  alone  to  and  from 
Jerusalem,  but,  being  known  by  sight  or  report  to  the  robbers,  though  often  reconnoitred, 
was  never  once  molested,  either  by  night  or  day.  Recently  the  Turkish  Government  has 
undertaken  the  safe  conduct  of  all  travellers  on  this  road,  a  proceeding  not  unnaturally 
resented  by  the  Bedouin,  as  being  an  infringement  of  local  self-government  on  the  part  of 


MUKMAS,  TIIK  ANCILCNT  MICHMASH,  IN  THE  WADY  SUVVEINIT. 


l82 


PICTURESQUE  PAEESTINE. 


a  centralizing  authority.  Any  traveller  who  wishes  to  explore  or  to  ramble  at  his  leisure 
will  do  well  to  make  his  own  terms  in  a  friendly  way  with  the  resident  tribes. 

We  have  already  rambled  over  the  Jordan  plain.  We  shall  now,  turning  straight  from 
the  foot  of  the  pass  of  the  Kelt,  proceed  an  hour's  ride  northwards  to  Ain  Duk,  the  great 
spring  which  divides  with  the  Prophet's  Fountain  the  honour  of  giving  life  and  fertility  to 
the  great  oasis.  We  cast  a  passing  glance  at  Abou-el-'Aleik,  two  ruined  forts  which  once  held 
the  entrance  of  the  pass,  the  Thrax  and  Taurus,  which  were  destroyed  by  Pompey,  and  below 
them  a  small  Saracenic  ruin  (Kakon),  marking,  perhaps,  the  site  of  the  Castle  of  Cyprus,  built 
by  Herod  to  command  Jericho,  with  the  rocks  steeply  scarped  in  front  of  it,  and  we  follow  up 
by  the  side  of  ruined  aqueducts  past  the  mouth  of  Wady  Harith  and  the  cell-pierced  front  of 
Ouarantania,  and  past  the  extensive  works  generally  looked  upon  as  ruined  Crusading  sugar- 
mills,  till  we  reach  the  mighty  fountain  of  Ain  Duk.  The  plenteous  supply  is  evidently  due 
to  its  situation  at  the  foot  of  Quarantania  to  the  north-east,  where  various  wadys  concentrate, 
and  the  underground  drainage  provides  a  perennial  and  inexhaustible  supply.  Two  copious 
springs  and  several  smaller  ones  burst  close  together  from  the  southern  part  of  the  Wady 
Nuweimeh.  The  largest  spring  is  overhung  by  the  boughs  of  a  dom-tree,  the  largest  existing 
tree  on  the  plain.  Only  its  overflow  is  allowed  to  go  down  the  natural  channel ;  the  bulk  of 
the  supply  is  interrupted  by  the  ancient  aqueduct  up  the  course  of  which  we  have  been  riding, 
and  with  the  velocity  of  a  mill-race  is  carried  close  above  Ain-es-Sultan,  watering  the  fields 
and  plots  on  its  way  by  little  sluices,  and  still  turning  the  wheel  of  a  disused  mill.  Though 
no  doubt  mills  were  used  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  most  of  the  so-called  sugar-works  are 
simply  old  corn-mills,  erected  by  a  people  who  looked  upon  water-power  as  more  economical 
than  the  ceaseless  toil  of  wives  and  slave-girls  at  the  hand-mill.  Not  only  is  this  fountain 
important  as  the  greatest  source  of  the  fertility  of  the  Jordan  plain,  it  is  also  at  the  spot 
where  three  roads — and  these  the  principal  lines  of  communication  from  the  centre  of  the 
country — converge  ;  yet,  unlike  its  rival,  the  Prophet's  Fountain,  it  has  barely  a  history  and 
scarcely  a  ruin.  The  only  historical  incident  connected  with  its  name  is  that  at  the  small  fort 
which  guarded  it  Simon  Maccabseus  and  his  two  sons  were  treacherously  murdered  by  his 
son-in-law  Ptolemy.  The  Book  of  the  Maccabees  calls  it  "  a  little  hold,"  and  not  more  than 
such  do  the  remains  indicate.  Two  rock-hewn  tombs  above  may  not  improbably  be  those  of 
the  Maccabaean  family,  buried  where  Hyrcanus  endeavoured  to  avenge  their  murder. 

Behind  the  ravines  which  open  on  the  plain  of  Jordan  at  this  point,  and  which  run  almost 
concentrically  towards  Jericho,  lies  that  hill-country  which  was  the  very  centre  and  heart  of 
Israel,  the  hill-country  of  little  Benjamin.  No  area  in  the  whole  land  is  more  thickly  studded 
with  historical  reminiscences.  Its  bare  hills  and  rounded  hollows,  its  deep  glens  and  rugged 
passes,  were  the  theatre  of  events  which  occupy  the  Bible  narrative  from  Abraham  to  the 
Captivity.  Here  camped  Abraham  and  Lot;,  here  slept  and  dreamt  Jacob  ;  here  were  the 
first  battles  of  the  conqueror  Joshua  ;  here  the  struggles  and  the  dark  tragedies  of  the  period 
of  the  Judges,  the  home  of  the  great  prophet  Samuel,  and  the  birthplace  of  the  first  king, 


HILL-COUNTRY  OF  LITTLE  BENJAMIN. 


183 


the  Benjamite  Saul.  Here  was  the  ceaseless  frontier  warfare  of  Israel  and  Judah,  and  here 
was  planted  the  great  station  and  centre  of  the  apostacy  of  the  northern  kingdom,  the  golden 
calf  of  Bethel.    The  passes  of  Benjamin  naturally  gave  that  little  tribe  a  disproportionate 


influence  in  the  land.  It  pos- 
sessed strong  fortresses  for  de- 
fence, conspicuous  high  places 
for  national  worship,  and  ravines 
by  which  it  could  command 
the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  east 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  rich 
plains  of  Philistia  on  the  other. 
Thus  it  earned  its  name  of 
"  little  Benjamin,  their  ruler." 
Within  its  little  territory  are 
crowded  the  names  of  Bethel, 

Ai,  Geba,  Ramah,  Mizpeh,  Gibeon,  Nob,  Michmash,  and  many  others,  the  scenes  of 
historic  events. 

Of  these  passes  that  of  Michmash,  here  represented,  is  a  typical  example,  and  it  is  the 
theatre  of  one  of  the  most  romantic  episodes  in  the  history  of  Israel.    Michmash,  the  modern 


JEBA,  THE  ANCIENT  GEBA  OF  BENJAMIN. 
The  shrine  of  Jebi  is  called  Neby  Yakub  (Prophet  Jacob). 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Mukmas,  stands  on  the  north  side  of  a  ravine,  the  Wady  Suweinit,  or  Valley  of  the  Thorn- 
tree,  which  takes  its  rise  west  of  Ai,  and  soon  becomes  a  narrow  gorge  with  vertical  sides 
eight  hundred  feet  deep — a  fissure  across  the  country  only  detected  when  arrived  on  its  actual 
brink.  It  is  the  true  head  of  the  Wady  Kelt.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  present  Jeba  and  Mukmas  with  the  position  of  the  respective  garrisons  of  the  Philistines 
and  Israelites.  We  read  there  was  a  sharp  rock  on  the  one  side  and  a  sharp  rock  on  the  other 
side ;  the  name  of  the  one  was  Bozez,  i.e.  "shining,"  and  the  other  Seneh,  "  the  acacia"  (i  Sam, 
xiv,  4).  Josephus  enters  into  more  minute  detail.  Michmash,  he  says,  was  a  precipice  with 
three  tops,  ending  in  a  long  sharp  tongue  and  protected  by  surrounding  cliffs.  Exactly  such  a 
natural  fortress  exists  ending  in  a  narrow  tongue  to  the  east,  with  cliffs  below  and  an  open 
valley  behind  it,  and  a  saddle  towards  the  west  on  which  the  village  stands.  Facing  it  on  the 
south  is  an  equally  precipitous  cliff,  apparently  as  inaccessible  from  the  ravine  as  the  other, 
and  still  bearing  the  name  of  Seneh,  from  the  acacia-trees  which  here  and  there  are  found 
in  the  nooks.  Now  the  valley  runs  due  east,  and  the  southern  cliff  is  consequently  always  in 
shade.  As  we  have  noted  in  going  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  there  is  a  marked  contrast  in 
colour  always  between  the  slopes  that  face  the  north  and  the  south,  and  here  it  is  especially 
striking.  The  sun-dried  chalk  face  of  the  northern  side  gleams  brightly  in  the  sunlight  from 
the  south,  and  has  well  earned  its  name  of  Bozez,  or  the  "  shining."  To  climb  down  from 
Geba  must  have  been  difficult  enough,  but  the  ascent  on  the  other  side,  which  Jonathan 
and  his  armour-bearer  achieved  "  upon  their  hands  and  feet,"  would  try  an  experienced 
mountaineer,  and  their  apparition  up  such  a  cliff  may  explain  the  panic  of  the  Philistines,  as 
they  would  be  taken  for  the  advance  guard  of  a  numerous  storming  party.  Across  the 
narrow  chasm  the  adventure  could  be  easily  watched,  and  the  noise  in  the  alarmed  camp  be 
heard.  Saul's  garrison  would  cross  the  valley  higher  up  with  ease  by  the  path  to  the 
village  behind,  and  thence  naturally  the  pursuit  was  towards  Bethel  and  down  the  Valley 
of  Ajalon  towards  Ain  Duk,  already  the  scene  of  the  first  great  victory  of  Joshua.  It  is 
evident  from  the  history  compared  with  the  topography  that  the  Philistines  had  not  secured 
any  posts  on  the  south  of  the  ravine,  but  had  spread  their  plundering  parties  east  to  Zeboim 
(Duk),  west  to  Beth-horon,  and  north  towards  Ophrah.  On  their  panic  the  northern  Israelites 
who  had  hid  themselves  in  Ephraim,  and  also  the  numerous  deserters  in  their  camp,  turned 
against  them  and  pursued  them  down  to  the  central  valley. 

With  the  identification  of  Michmash  that  of  Geba  is  necessarily  secured.  There  'are 
few  events  of  a  circumstantial  history  three  thousand  years  old  more  minutely  identified  in 
their  every  detail  than  this  surprise  of  the  garrison  of  Michmash.  We  see  where  Saul  lay 
at  bay.  On  the  south  side  of  the  chasm  stands  Geba  of  Benjamin,  on  a  rocky  knoll,  with 
cisterns  beneath  and  corn-land  to  the  eastward,  still  known  as  Jeba.  There  has  been  much 
confusion  between  this  Geba  and  Gibeah  of  Saul,  usually  identified  with  the  modern  Taleil-el- 
Ful ;  but  the  suggestion  of  Lieut.  Conder  that  Gibeah  of  Saul  applied  to  a  district  as  well 
as  a  place  seems  to  solve  the  difficulty.    Once  again  in  Old  Testament  history,  after  the 


GEBA. 


period  of  Saul,  Geba  is  mentioned.  When  Isaiah  describes  the  advance  of  Sennacherib  upon 
Jerusalem,  we  read,  "  At  Michmash  he  hath  laid  up  his  carriages  :  they  have  gone  over  the 
passage:  they  have  taken  up  their  lodging  at  Geba"  (ch.  x.  28),  i.e.  "the  carriages,"  or  heavy 


baggage,  could  not  be  got  across  the  ravine  between 
Michmash  and  Geba,  they  are  left  behind,  and  the  lightly 
equipped  portion  of  the  army  bivouac — "  take  up  their 
lodging" — at  Geba,  on  the  opposite  side,  having  had  a 
toilsome  climb  across.  When  we  stand  on  the  edge  of 
the  cliff  of  Geba,  and  remember  how  this  ravine  was  the 
natural  frontier-line  between  the  kingdoms  of  Judah  and 
Israel,  we  can  well  understand  the  care  which  King  Asa 

took  to  dismantle  Ramah,  and  to  employ  all  the  resources  of  his  kingdom  in  the  building  and 
fortification  of  Geba.    To  what  it  has  fallen  to-day  the  illustration  tells  us  (see  page  183). 
There  is  indeed  an  old  dilapidated  castle,  the  fragment  of  a  solid  square  tower,  and  a  few 
25 


i86 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


foundations.  The  hovels 
of  the  squalid  village 
are  formed  of  loose 
stones  from  old  build- 
ings and  turf  But  the 
view  towards  the  east 
is  wide  and  impressive. 
We  are  surrounded  by 
the  hills  of  Benjamin, 
each  in  shape  and  in 
the  crumbling  mound 
on  its  top  a  repetition 

of  the  last.  In  the  immediate  foreground  we  see  the  little  village  of 
Deir  Diwan,  one  of  the  few  remaining  inhabited  places  in  the  district 
on  its  plateau,  and  beyond  this  slopes  down  tier  after  tier  of  the 
mountain  chain,  seamed  and  scarred  in  every  direction,  till  it  dips  into 
the  Jordan  Valley.  The  huge  thistles  which  fill  the  foreground  of  the 
sketch,  in  front  of  the  Moslem  burying-ground,  where  a  family  are 


THE  SUMMIT  OF  NEBY  SAMWIL- 
A  woman  carrying  a  goat-skin  filled  with  water  up  the  hill. 


BETHEL. 


187 


mourning  their  lost  one,  are  but  a  sample  of  the  herbage  which  covers  all  this  neglected 
land  when  the  first  spring  has  passed.  "  Upon  the  land  of  my  people  shall  come  up  thorns 
and  briers."  In  fact,  prickle,  brier,  quickthorn,  and  nettle  are  all  combined  in  their  formidable 
stems,  whose  only  use  is  as  fuel,  and  which  are  laboriously  gathered  by  the  women  to  heat 
their  ovens.  "  As  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot "  is  a  simile  which  often  recurs  to  the 
traveller  as  he  watches  his  barley  cake  tossed  on  the  quickly  blazing  thistles  and  then  buried 
in  their  embers.  And  as  the  thorn  has  taken  the  place  of  the  vine,  so  has  the  solitary  stork 
on  Jebas  crumbling  tower  supplanted  the  watchful  sentinel  of  Israel's  army.  But  beneath 
that  cliff  the  ravine  is  still  pierced  with  caves,  and  one  large  cavern  just  under  the  fort  is 
surely  the  very  cave  out  which  rushed  the  liers-in-wait  of  the  Israelitish  army,  who  fell  with 
such  fearful  slaughter  on  the  hapless  Benjamites  in  that  dark  epoch  when  the  tribe  was  all  but 
annihilated  (Judges  xx.). 

From  Geba  and  Michmash  we  turn  four  or  five  miles  northward  in  search  of  a  site  yet 
more  ancient  and  full  of  Patriarchal  reflections.  Bethel.  But  before  reaching  it  we  must  find 
out  Ai.  We  know  it  was  to  the  east  of  Bethel,  that  there  was  a  hill  between  them  from 
which  the  plains  of  Jordan  could  be  seen,  and  that  it  was  the  second  city  utterly  destroyed  by 
Joshua,  We  gather  from  the  account  of  its  capture  by  Joshua  that  there  was  a  valley  to  the 
north  of  the  town  and  low  ground  to  the  west,  where  an  ambush  could  be  set  unseen  from  the 
city,  while  on  the  opposite  side  was  a  plain.  The  area,  then,  in  which  we  must  search  is  very 
limited.  Colonel  Wilson  was,  we  believe,  the  first  to  point  out  the  exact  spot,  in  a  knoll  which 
bears  the  name  of  Et  Tell,  "the  heap"  (see  page  185).  The  modern  name  is  a  remarkable 
incidental  confirmation  of  sacred  history.  "Joshua  burnt  Ai,  and  made  it  an  heap  \tell'\  for 
ever,  even  a  desolation  unto  this  day."  Now  the  place  has  no  other  name  than  "  Et  Tell," 
and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  word  "  tell  "  occurs  only  three  or  four  times  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible,  while  it  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  words  in  Arabic,  every  place  on  a  rising  ground 
having  this  prefix.  But  nowhere  else  do  we  ever  find  it  standing  alone — the  heap,  the  one 
made  and  cursed  by  the  captains  of  Israel.  We  can  follow  all  the  military  evolutions  of 
Joshua.  The  ambush,  following  the  ancient  causeway,  still  to  be  traced,  from  Jordan  to 
Bethel  as  far  as  Michmash,  would  ascend  the  valley  west  of  Ai,  and  arrive  within  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  without  coming  in  sight  of  it,  and  lie  in  wait  unsuspected.  The  main  body,  keeping 
the  road,  would  appear  before  the  town  on  the  open,  east  and  south.  From  the  knoll  the 
figure  of  Joshua  would  be  plainly  visible  to  either  party,  with  his  spear  stretched  out  towards 
the  city.  Lieut.  Conder  in  his  examination  of  the  Tell  has  remarked,  what  had  escaped 
former  observers,  that  the  debris  which  forms  the  mound  is  composed  of  masonry  broken 
small,  unlike  other  ruins — in  fact,  that  it  had  been  literally  ground  to  powder. 

Hither  Abraham  had  returned  with  Lot  to  the  same  "  place  where  his  tent  had  been  at 
the  beginning,  between  Bethel  and  Hai,  unto  the  place  at  the  altar  which  he  had  made  there  at 
the  first."  This  altar  would  naturally  be  on  the  hill,  not  in  the  plain  below.  From  its  top 
Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  beheld  all  the  plains  of  Jordan.    This  is  the  most  westerly  spot 


i88 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


whence  the  plain  can  be  seen.  To  the  east  there  rises  in  the  foreground  the  jagged  range  of 
hills  above  Jericho,  in  the  distance  the  dark  wall  of  Moab,  and  between  them  lies  the  Valley 
of  the  Jordan,  its  eastern  side  clearly  visible.  The  view  also  south  and  west  is  wide  and 
commanding-  as  far  as  the  hills  round  Hebron.    Here  it  was  that  "the  Lord  said  unto 


I])  now 
om  th( 
liwai 


ihiiK 

1,1  UC 


Abraham,  Lift 
eyes,  and  look 

where  thou  art  n)ith\\ii(l  uui 
southward,  and   (.  isiw  ud  md 

westward  :  for  all  the  land  which  thou  seest,  to 
thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever " 
(Gen.  xiii.  14,  15). 

We  proceed  a  little  to  the  west,  and  we  still 
find  ourselves  bewildered  among  that  labyrinth  of 
wadys  which  forms  the  hill  country  of  Benjamm. 
They  run  in  all  directions,  east,  west,  north,  and 
south,  and  to  the  cursory  observer  there  is  little  to 
mark  off  one  from  another.  Yon  tower,  however, 
stands  out  conspicuous,  and  from  its  summit  surely  a  commanding  view  may  be  obtained.  It 
seems,  if  not  modern,  at  least  well  preserved.  We  soon  see  that  it  is  a  minaret ;  it  is,  in  fact, 
the  minaret  erected  at  the  end  of  an  old  Crusading  church,  within  which  is  the  cenotaph  which 
the  Moslems  reverence  as  the  tomb  of  the  prophet  Samuel,  the  well-known  Nebi  Samwil,  the 
Mount  Joy  of  the  Crusaders.    But  what  was  it  in  ancient  times  ?    Here  the  learned  doctors 


TALEIL-EL-FUL,  FROM  NEBY  SAMWIL. 
tj.enerally  regarded  as  the  Gibeah  ot  Saul. 


GIBEON. 


191 


once  an  important  fortress,  Gibeon  of  Benjamin  (see  page  189).  The  country  round  the  little 
basin  in  which  it  rises  is  seamed  with  watercourses  apparently  running  in  every  direction, 
but  all  ultimately  find  their  way  to  the  plain  of  Sharon,  for  we  are  here  altogether  west  of 
the  Jordan  watershed.  The  ancient  city  has  shrunk  to  a  collection  of  a  few  scattered 
hovels,  but  the  landmarks  of  old  history  are  still  here.  Under  a  cliff  where  a  cave  has 
been  hollowed  out  bursts  forth  a  copious  spring,  which  feeds  not  only  a  deep  reservoir 
on  the  spot,  but  also  a  large  open  reservoir  of  very  ancient  masonry  beneath  the  village 
on  the  east.  Few  spots  can  be  more  minutely  identified  than  this  Pool  of  Gibeon,  where 
Abner,  with  the  adherents  of  Ishbosheth,  Saul's  son,  met  in  the  heart  of  Saul's  own  tribal 
district  Joab  and  David's  men,  and  the  two  bands  sat  down  facing  each  other  on  opposite 


BEIT-'UR-EL-FOKA,  ON  THE  SITE  OF  UPPER  BETH-HORON. 
In  the  distance  the  sandy  line  of  coast  and  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 


sides  of  the  pool.  When  in  the  wager  of  battle,  twelve  against  twelve,  all  the  twenty-four 
fell,  the  plain  was- called  "the  Field  of  the  Strong  Men "  (2  Sam.  ii.).  The  tradition  still 
lingers  in  the  name  Wady-el-Askur,  "the  Valley  of  the  Soldiers."  We  may  recall,  too, 
the  second  tragedy  on  this  spot,  in  which  Joab  took  the  leading  part,  when,  "  by  the  great 
stone  that  was  in  Gibeon,"  he  basely  assassinated  his  rival  Amasa ;  and  here,  by  a  just 
retribution,  he  was  slain  on  the  horns  of  the  altar  by  Solomon's  sentence.  By  this  tank, 
too,  "the  great  waters,"  Johanan  defeated  the  traitor  Ishmael  during  the  Captivity.  But  El 
Jib  has  more  hallowed  reminiscences  than  deeds  of  blood.  Its  Canaanite  inhabitants,  whose 
blood  probably  runs  in  the  veins  of  the  villagers  of  to-day,  were  the  only  Hivites  spared 
by  Joshua,  lured  by  their  wiles  into  a  treaty  with  them ;  and  here,  for  more  than  fifty 


192 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


years  before  the  building  of  Solomon's  Temple,  stood  the  national  altar  of  sacrifice,  where 
King  Solomon  offered  his  one  thousand  burnt-offerings,  and  received  in  the  visions  of  the 
night  the  promise  of  wealth,  honour,  and  long  life.  Past  glories,  indeed,  are  these  we  feel, 
as  we  sit  under  one  of  the  gnarled  and  contorted  olive-trees  which  dot  the  slopes.    Yet,  bare 


VIEW  FROM  UPPER  BETH-HORON, 
Looking  westward,  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  at  sunset. 

and  uninviting  as  the  land  of  Benjamin  is  to-day,  every  knoll,  every  hillside,  ribbed  and 
scarred  with  old  terraces,  bears  testimony  to  what  once  it  was.  What  it  may  be  again,  when 
life  and  property  are  secure  from  tyranny  and  oppression,  when  the  olive-trees  are  planted 
again,  the  cisterns  cemented,  and  the  water-courses  repaired,  the  gorges  of  the  Lebanon, 
teeming  with  population  and  produce,  unmistakably  proclaim. 


BEIT  'UR-ET-TAHTA,  ON  THE  SITE  OF  LOWER  BETH-HORON. 
A  Bedouin  tent  in  the  foreground.     A  woman  preparing  food,  to  be  eaten  at  sunset. 


THE  MOUNTAINS  OF  JUDAH  AND  EPHRAIM, 

A  MOUNTAIN  ridge,  rising  to  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
^  ^  Mediterranean,  runs  unbroken  from  the  pass  north  of  Bethel  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Hebron,  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles  in  a  straight  line.  The  shed  is  extremely  narrow, 
and  the  deep  and  rugged  valleys  which  intersect  the  region,  running  down  eastwards  to  the 
Jordan  Valley  and  westwards  to  the  plains  of  Sharon  and  Philistia,  have  their  heads  in  some 
cases  overlapping.  The  most  peculiar  feature  of  the  mountain  rampart  is,  however,  the 
extraordinarily  steep  and  sudden  descent  which  occurs  on  the  west  at  about  ten  miles  from 
the  watershed  ridge  or  backbone  of  the  country.  The  slopes  here  fall  suddenly,  leaving  a 
mountain  wall,  which  forms  a  conspicuous  feature  when  viewed  from  the  lower  hills.  Thus 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Beth-horon  there  is  a  descent  of  more  than  five  hundred  feet  in 
about  half  a  mile,  while  from  the  hills  round  Adullam  the  traveller  looks  up  at  apparently 
inaccessible  mountains  rising  east  of  the  famous  Valley  of  Elah,  In  the  early  morning,  while 
the  bright  sunlight  bathes  the  plains,  the  mountain  wall  formed  by  these  steep  western  slopes 
is  seen  in  the  distance  blue  in  the  shadow,  and  it  is  only  after  midday,  as  the  sun  creeps 
round  towards  the  south,  that  the  white  domes  in  the  clustering  villages  begin  to  shine  out, 
and  the  intricate  network  of  ravines  and  torrent-beds  is  distinguishable  by  its  light  and  shade. 

The  higher  mountains  consist  of  a  hard  crystalline  limestone,  generally  dark  grey  in 
colour,  but  often  stained  with  russet  bands,  and  sometimes  attaining  to  a  dark  purple  hue, 
while  thin  streaks  of  soft  white  chalk  are  left  by  the  action  of  immemorial  rains  on  the 
26 


194 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


summits  of  the  chain.  The  ridge  is  a  steep  anticlinal — a  great  arch  of  hard  rocks  curving 
down  east  and  west  to  valley  and  plain.  The  lower  hills  on  the  west  belong  to  a  distinct 
formation,  and  are  indeed  remains  of  the  great  chalk  sea  which  once  overflowed  the  hard 
limestone  mountains.  Hence  it  arises  that  the  division  between  the  higher  mountains  and 
the  lower  hills  of  the  Judsean  chain  is  so  distinct ;  and  the  traveller  looking  down  from  the 
higher  spurs  sees  the  low  hills  gleaming  with  white  chalk  or  dusky  with  long  olive  groves, 
forming  an  intermediate  district  between  the  grey  mountains  and  the  rich  brown  plains.  In 
Scripture  and  in  later  Jewish  writings  the  two  regions  receive  distinct  names,  the  low  hills 
being  called  "  Shephelah,"  and  the  higher  range  the  "  King's  Mountain  "  in  the  Talmud. 

Three  main  passes  lead  from  the  maritime  plain  to  the  King's  Mountain  or  Chain  of 
Judaea  :  one  from  the  north-west,  one  from  the  west,  and  a  third  from  the  south-west.  This 
first  of  these  is  the  famous  Pass  of  Beth-horon,  the  scene  of  so  many  Jewish  victories  ;  the 
second  is  the  road  by  which  the  modern  traveller  approaches  the  Holy  City,  leading  up  from 
Ramleh  and  past  the  "  Gate  of  the  Valley,"  through  Wady  'Aly,  a  gorge  flanked  by  rugged 
mountains  covered  with  mastic  bushes  and  crowned  by  a  belt  of  firs  and  other  forest  trees. 
The  third  pass  leads  through  the  broad  corn  vale  of  Elah  and  ascends  to  the  neighbourhood 
of  Halhul,  half-way  between  Jerusalem  and  Hebron.  At  the  time  of  the  great  struggle  for 
national  existence  Judas  Maccabaeus  successfully  resisted  three  Greek  armies  attempting  to 
ascend  by  each  of  these  three  main  approaches  successively.  The  liberation  of  Judaea  was 
the  immediate  result  of  the  three  victorious  "  Battles  of  the  Passes  "  at  Beth-horon,  Emmaus, 
and  Bethsura. 

The  three  great  valleys  thus  noticed — the  main  drains  of  the  mountain  system — are  fed 
by  innumerable  torrent-beds,  which  form  an  intricate  network  of  deep  and  narrow  trenches, 
increasing  in  size  as  they  recede  farther  from  the  watershed  and  plunge  deeper  towards  the 
plain.  Long  and  narrow  spurs  run  out  between  these  ravines,  and  a  traveller  who  attempts 
to  ride  north  and  south  instead  of  following  the  direction  of  the  country  will  find  his  day 
wasted  in  tedious  climbing  and  break-neck  scrambles,  and  may  consider  himself  fortunate  if 
he  makes  a  mile  of  way  in  an  hour. 

The  western  spurs  of  the  King's  Mountain  present  a  far  less  bare  and  sun-scorched 
appearance  than  do  the  steep  eastern  spurs  above  the  Jordan  Valley.  The  mountains  are  full 
of  springs  of  clear  cool  water  gushing  out  between  the  slabs  of  shining  limestone  ;  and  although 
the  valleys  and  ravines  never  run  water,  except  perhaps  for  a  few  hours  in  winter  when  filled 
by  a  sudden  spate  or  thunderstorm,  still  there  is  no  lack  of  "  fountains  and  depths  that  spring 
out  of  valleys  and  hills."  In  the  Shephelah,  on  the  other  hand,  the  water  sinks  through  the 
porous  chalk  and  finds  its  way  beneath  the  surface,  springing  up  again  in  great  blue  pools  at 
the  eastern  border  of  the  maritime  plain.  The  inhabitants  obtain  water  from  wells  and 
cisterns  in  the  Shephelah,  but  almost  every  village  has  its  spring  in  the  King's  Mountain. 

The  mountain  spurs  thus  watered  and  exposed  to  the  cool  western  sea-breeze,  which  in 
summer  blows  steadily  throughout  the  day,  are  thickly  covered  with  wild  growth  which  has 


VALLEY  OF  AJALON. 


'95 


much  encroached  on  the  ancient  cultivation.  The  lentisk  or  mastic — akin  to  the  pistachio 
and  to  the  terebinth — forms  thickets  of  low  brushwood,  dark  green  in  colour,  with  a  gummy 
leaf,  which  gives  it  in  Arabic  the  name  ' Alaka,  or  the  "sticking"  plant.    One  of  the  three 


VIEW  FROM  THE  RUINS  OF  THE  MEDIEVAL  FORTRESS  AT  LATRON, 
Looking  westward,  towards  the  Mediterranean  Sea  ;  the  watch-towers  on  the  road  to  Jaffa  are  plainly  shown. 


species  of  Syrian  oak  also  grows  as  a  bush,  and  the  hawthorn,  the  cornel,  the  arbutus,  and 
the  myrtle  are  found  in  the  copse.  Here  and  there  a  solitary  oak  of  great  size  is  seen  hung 
with  rags  as  votive  offerings,  and  each  of  these  trees  has  a  well-known  name.  The  Valley  of 
Elah  is  still  dotted  with  dark  and  heavy-looking  terebinths,  from  which  its  ancient  name  was 


VALLEY  OF  AJALON,  FROM  THE  WEST, 
Looking  across  the  broad  corn-fields  to  Mizpeh  and  the  more  distant  mountains  in  the  Valley  of  the  Jordan. 


derived.  The  Forest  of  Hareth  is  still  represented  by  the  thickets  round  the  modern  village 
of  Kharas.  The  neighbourhood  of  Kirjath  Jearim,  the  "town  of  woods,"  is  still  remarkable 
for  its  tangled  thickets  ;  and  scattered  pines  along  the  higher  ridges  south  of  Halhul  represent 


196 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


the  remains  of  the  old  pine  forest,  whence  Arculphus  describes  Jerusalem  as  having  been 
supplied  with  firewood  in  the  seventh  century  of  our  era. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  this  mountain  region  is  the  manner  in  which  the  ancient 
inhabitants  seized  on  the  most  conspicuous  peaks  and  knolls  as  safe  sites  for  their  villages. 
As  the  eye  glances  along  the  rugged  spurs  the  towers  of  the  hamlets  are  seen  standing  up 
against  the  sky-line,  while  the  flat  roofs  of  the  little  cabins  composing  the  village  are  crowded 
round  the  central  house  of  two  stories,  which  is  occupied  by  the  sheikh,  and  has  the 
appearance  of  a  keep  or  fortress,  in  the  middle  of  the  village  climbing  up  the  steep  slopes  of 
the  knoll.  Thus,  in  approaching  Jerusalem,  Soba  on  its  high  rocky  ridge  is  visible  from  a 
great  distance  (see  page  198),  and  Kastal  dominates  the  broad  Valley  of  Kolonia.  Gibeon, 
Ramah,  and  Geba,  north  of  the  Holy  City,  stand  in  the  same  way  on  isolated  knolls,  and 
derive  their  names  from  the  character  of  their  sites  ;  and,  speaking  generally,  the  villages, 
with  hardly  an  exception,  are  built  in  situations  of  great  natural  strength,  and  are  plainly 
visible  from  any  of  the  more  commanding  points  of  view  in  the  district,  while  the  low-lying 
hamlets  and  scattered  homesteads  of  our  own  country  have  no  counterpart  among  the 
mountains  of  the  Holy  Land. 

Unlike  the  rich  corn-lands  of  Philistia  and  the  pastures  of  Sharon,  the  King's  Mountain 
is  not  a  region  possessed  of  a  naturally  fertile  soil.  The  red  earth  scarcely  covers  the  hard 
rock  on  the  slopes,  and  only  in  the  bottoms  of  the  ravines  and  in  the  dells — called  kheldl  by 
the  natives — is  it  possible  to  plough  and  sow  corn.  Patient  labour  and  knowledge  of  the 
country  overcame,  however,  these  difficulties  in  ancient  times,  and  even  at  the  present  day 
the  cultivation  is  only  curtailed  by  the  scantiness  of  the  population.  The  bright  apple  green 
of  the  vines  may  be  seen  trailing  over  the  long  ridges  of  stone,  and  yokes  of  diminutive 
oxen  are  found  dragging  the  light  hand-plough  between  the  boles  of  the  olive-trees  which 
cover  the  hillsides  round  the  villages. 

The  mountain  region  near  Hebron  and  Jerusalem  is  specially  fitted  for  the  growth  of  the 
grape.  A  fierce  summer  sun,  frosty  nights  in  winter,  a  fat  though  scanty  soil,  hard  rock 
reflecting  the  heat  on  to  the  ripening  fruit,  and  in  autumn  damp  mists  to  swell  the  juices 
of  the  vine — these  are  all  requisites  for  vine-culture,  and  all  occur  in  the  Judsean  mountains. 
Hence,  in  the  vineyards  of  Bethlehem,  Beit  Jala,  and  Hebron  the  grapes  attain  enormous  size, 
and  might  be  made  into  excellent  wine ;  while  the  innumerable  rock-cut  presses  which  are 
found  near  the  ancient  ruins  or  hidden  among  the  thick  copses,  near  ancient  towers  rudely 
built  of  large  unshapen  blocks,  attest  the  former  widespread  cultivation  of  the  vine  throughout 
the  whole  district. 

The  King's  Mountain  is  a  region  full  of  famous  places.  Bethel,  Michmash,  Gibeon, 
Beth-horon,  Emmaus,  Bethlehem,  Anathoth,  and  Mizpeh  are  names  familiar  to  the  English 
reader  as  household  words  ;  and  there  is  no  other  part  of  Palestine  which  has  witnessed  so 
many  important  events  of  biblical  history,  or  which  is  so  thickly  crowded  with  famous  ancient 
sites.    Not  least  interesting  among  these  sites  are  the  two  little  villages  now  called  Beit 


VALLEY  OF  AJALON. 


197 


'Ur-el-F6ka  (the  Upper  Beth-horon)  and  Beit  'Ur-et-Tahta  (the  Lower  Beth-horon),  situated 
less  than  a  mile  apart,  and  the  one  some  five  hundred  feet  above  the  other  (see  pages  192 
and  193).  Upper  Beth-horon,  a  ruinous-looking  hamlet  with  a  great  ruined  reservoir,  stands 
at  the  extremity  of  a  narrow  space  of  hard  grey  limestone,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  straggling 
olive  grove.  The  ancient  road,  descending  the  hill  by  rock-cut  steps  through  a  narrow 
cutting,  appears  to  be  the  work  of  the  Romans,  and  leads  from  the  plain  near  Lydda  to  the 
watershed  east  of  Gibeon,  being  skilfully  engineered  along  the  crest  of  the  long  spur  leading 
by  the  Beth-horon  Pass. 

The  view  from  the  village  extends  on  the  south-west  across  the  open  Vale  of  Ajalon  to 
Gezer  and  the  Philistine  plain,  while  on  the  north  the  rugged  range  of  Mount  Ephraim  is  seen 
crowned  with  fortress  villages.  Beth-horon  ("  the  House  of  Caverns ")  first  appears  in 
history  as  the  site  of  the  great  battle  when  Joshua  defeated  the  league  of  Hivite  chiefs 
gathered  to  the  assistance  of  the  Gibeonites,  and  as  the  scene  of  the  miracle  when  the  "  Sun 
stood  still  and  the  Moon  stayed,"  until  Israel  was  avenged  of  its  enemies.  The  site  has 
never  been  lost.  It  was  known  to  the  early  fathers  of  the  Church  and  to  the  Crusading 
pilgrims  as  well  as  it  is  to  ourselves,  and  the  village  of  Beth-horon  is  one  of  the  few 
undisputed  identifications  in  Palestine  topography.  Solomon  fortified  it  as  a  frontier  town ; 
Shishak  enumerates  it  in  the  list  of  the  cities  which  he  wrested  from  Rehoboam  ;  Judas 
Maccabaeus  twice  saved  the  city  and  the  Temple  by  victories  over  the  Greek  forces  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  this  steep  ascent.  In  the  year  168  b.c.  the  patriotic  son  of  Mattathias 
gathered  a  handful  of  zealous  outlaws  on  the  summit  of  the  stony  ridge  and  fell  suddenly 
on  the  army  of  Seron,  the  Greek  general,  who  was  marching  from  Lydda  on  Jerusalem,  and 
the  victory  which  followed  was  the  first  blow  struck  for  freedom  by  the  national  party.  In 
the  year  162  B.C.  another  Greek  army  attempted  to  advance  by  this  route,  supported  by  the 
sally  of  the  garrison  under  Nicanor  from  Jerusalem,  but  the  battle  of  Adasa  was  followed  by 
a  pursuit  which  drove  the  foreigners  down  the  same  steep  slope  which  had  witnessed  the 
flight  of  the  Amorites  before  Joshua,  and  that  of  the  Philistines  from  Michmash  before  Saul 
and  Jonathan.  The  little  ruin  called  Il'asa,  close  to  the  Lower  Beth-horon,  also  probably 
represents  the  site  of  Eleasa,  where  Judas  arrayed  his  army  before  the  fatal  battle  of  Berzetho, 
in  which  he  lost  his  life. 

The  Vale  of  Ajalon,  named  from  the  "village  of  deer"  (Ajalon),  now  called  Yalo,  which 
stands  on  a  low  hill  to  the  south,  is  a  broad  corn  valley  below  the  mountains  forming  the 
mouth  of  the  long  narrow  ravine  which  bounds  the  ridge  of  Beth-horon  on  the  south,  and 
which  is  now  called  Wady  Suleiman  (see  page  195).  Viewed  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
village  of  Latron,  three  famous  sites  are  seen  grouped  on  the  low  hills  south-east  of  this  corn 
valley,  namely,  Ajalon  itself;  'Amwas,  the  Emmausof  the  Book  of  Maccabees;  and  Beit  Nuba, 
where  King  Richard  fixed  his  camp  when  contemplating  an  advance  on  the  Holy  City, 
and  which  the  early  pilgrims  erroneously  supposed  to  represent  the  site  of  Nob,  the  city  of 
the  priests. 


198 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


About  a  mile  north  of  Latron  the  village  of  'Amwas  clings  to  the  side  of  a  bare  chalky 
hill.     Its  name  preserves  that  of  Emmaus,  afterward  called  Nicopolis,  a  city  famous  in  the 


annals  of  the  Hasmoneans 
as  the  scene  of  the  second 
great  victory  won  by  Judas 
Maccabseus  in  the  year 
166  B.C.  The  name  Em- 
maus is  explained  by 
Josephus  to  mean  a  "  heal- 
ing bath,"  and  is  thus  pro- 
bably the  Aramaic  form  of 
the  old  Hebrew  Hammath, 
signifying  a  "  hot  "  bath. 
There  were  three  places 
in  Palestine  named  Em- 
maus. One,  originally 
called  Hammath,  was  built 
over  the  thermal  springs 
immediately  south  of 
Tiberias.       The  second, 

Emmaus  Nicopolis,  now  under  consideration,  is  said  in  the  Talmud  to  have  possessed  springs 
often  visited  by  sick  persons,  as  are  the  thermal  springs  near  Tiberias  at  the  present  day. 


SOBA,  FROM  THE  JERUSALEM  ROAD. 
T\v0  native  ladies,  mounted  on  asses  and  enveloped  in  large  white  cotton  veils,  called  izzars, 
are  ascending  the  hill. 


KOLONIA. 


20I 


splendid  church  was  built  in  the  flat  dell  north-east  of  the  village,  and  a  convent  was  founded 
not  far  off  beside  a  stream  of  clear  water  running  over  the  rocky  bed  of  a  ravine.  The  church 
is  still  standing,  and  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  buildings  of  its  period  left  in  the  Holy  Land. 
The  dim  shadows  of  the  frescoes  which  once  adorned  its  walls  are  still  traceable,  though  the 
colours  and  outlines  are  obliterated  by  age.  The  west  window  is  remarkable  for  the  intricacy 
of  its  mouldings,  and  the  vaults  below  contain  a  fresh  spring  reached  by  steps,  and  to  which 
no  doubt  some  tradition  now  lost  was  formerly  attached.  The  names  of  the  early  pilgrims  are 
still  visible  scratched  on  the  stucco  of  the  internal  walls.  Kuryet-el-'Anab,  as  before  noticed, 
IS  one  of  the  claimants  for  the  name  Emmaus,  though  its  only  pretension  is  its  distance  from 
Jerusalem;  but  perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  suggestion  which  has  been  made,  as  to  the 
Hebrew  name  of  this  village,  is  that  it  is  the  ancient  Kirjath  of  Benjamin. 

Leaving  the  open  valley  with  its  green  vineyards,  above  which  the  white  houses  of  the 
village  rise  west  of  the  church  and  its  solitary  palm,  the  road  to  Jerusalem  ascends  by  a  zigzag 
to  another  long  ridge,  from  which  the  picturesque  village  of  Soba  becomes  visible  on  the  right, 
separated  from  the  road  by  an  extremely  deep  and  almost  impassable  gorge.  Soba  is  one  of 
the  most  picturesquely  situated  places  in  Palestine.  The  village  crowns  a  conical  knoll  rising 
from  a  dark  ridge  clothed  in  thick  copse  of  mastic  and  oak,  and  the  topmost  tower  forms 
a  conspicuous  landmark  from  all  sides.  The  modern  name  is  exactly  descriptive  of  the  site, 
the  word  "  sobah  "  indicating  one  of  the  conical  heaps  of  grain  which  may  be  seen  in  the  centre 
of  a  Syrian  threshing-floor  in  August.  The  site  is  so  conspicuous  that  almost  every  writer 
has  offered  his  conjecture  as  to  the  identity  of  the  place  with  some  ancient  town,  and  Soba  has 
been  supposed  at  various  periods  to  represent  Kirjath  Jearim,  Zuph,  Ramathaim  Zophim, 
and  even  Modin,  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Soba  is  an  ancient  place.  Rock-cut  tombs  of 
the  most  ancient  form  used  by  the  Jews  are  to  be  found  among  the  vineyards  south  of  the 
village,  and  rock-cut  wine-presses  exist  near  them..  In  the  twelfth  century  the  place  was 
called  Belmont  by  the  Franks,  and  the  traces  of  a  Crusading  fortress  are  still  visible  on  the 
hill.  Its  claim  to  represent  Modin  is  more  ancient  than  that  of  Latron,  although  equally 
unsatisfactory.  -  In  the  fourteenth  century  the  Jewish  pilgrims  were  quite  at  a  loss  to  decide 
between  the  rival  sites,  and  Isaac  Chelo  even  suggests  that  Ramleh  may  have  been  Modin  ; 
but  in  the  fourth  century  the  true  site  of  the  home  of  the  Maccabees,  the  present  village  of 
El  Meclyeh,  seems  still  to  have  been  recognised  on  the  low  hills  east  of  Lydda. 

Following  the  ridge  north  of  Soba,  the  traveller  arrives  at  the  descent  which  leads  across 
the  Wady  Beit  Hanina,  and  sees  before  him  the  bleak  grey  range  capped  with  white  chalk 
which  hides  the  Holy  City  from  view.  Beneath  him  is  the  small  village  of  Kolonia,  with  its 
white  shrine  perched  on  the  slope  above  the  gardens  of  orange  and  pomegranate  which 
surround  a  little  hostelry  beside  a  bridge  of  several  arches  spanning  the  shingly  bed  of  the 
torrent  (see  page  202).  The  descent  to  Kolonia  is  more  than  a  thousand  feet,  and  an  equally 
steep  ascent  leads  up  on  the  east  to  the  barren  plateau  of  the  watershed  on  which  Jerusalem 
stands.  As  the  eye  travels  round  southward,  following  the  course  of  the  great  valley, 
27 


202 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


another  long  and  stony  spur  becomes  visible,  while  on  a  shelf  of  rock  between  this  ridge  and 
the  torrent  bed  the  village  of  'Ain  Karim  is  picturesquely  perched  (see  page  205).  The 
stern  and  rugged  beauty  of  this  view  is  especially  striking  in  early  morning,  when  the  walls 
of  rock  and  the  rugged  slopes  on  the  east  are  still  dark  in  the  shadow ;  and  in  winter  the 


KOLONIA,  AND  WADY  BEIT  HANINA. 
A  favourite  place  of  resort  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem  ;  it  is  famous  for  its  well-kept  vineyards  and  vegetable  gardens. 


long  lines  of  vapour  rising  from  the  valley  leave  the  white  convent  wall  floating  as  it  were 
in  the  air,  backed  by  dark  cypresses  and  the  grey  rocks  stained  with  rusty  bands.  The 
valley  itself  is,  however,  a  striking  contrast  to  the  barren  hills  which  enclose  it.  The  springs 
which  ooze  out  of  the  mountain  sides  drip  over  the  precipices  and  fertilise  the  good  soil 


WADY  BEIT  HAN  IN  A. 


203 


beneath.  The  open  ground  is  covered  with  olive  yards 
and  vineyards  rising  in  terraces  on  either  side  of  the 
white  torrent  bed,  while  near  Kolonia  is  a  shady  garden, 
the  resort  of  the  Jerusalem  citizens  in  the  summer. 

Wady  Beit  Hanina,  as  this  valley  is  generallv 
called — although  like  most  of  the  ravines 
in  Palestine  it  takes  in  succession  the 
name  of  each  village  it  passes — is  one  of 
the  main  drains  of  the  country.  It  has 
its  head  not  far  from  Gibeon,  north  of 
Jerusalem,  and  thence  runs  south-west, 
deepening  rapidly  as  it  approaches 
Kolonia,  where  it  becomes  wider  until 


"i 


,  passing  'Ain  Karim.  Trending 
west  it  runs  south  of  Soba  and 
becomes    a    formidable  gorge, 
taking  the  name  of  Wady  Ism'ain 
from  a  traditionary  chieftain  of 
the  locality.     The  course  after 
passing  'Ain   Karim  is  very  tortuous,  and  the 
steep  hills  on  either  side  are  thickly  clothed  with 
copse.    Hermits'  caves  occur  in  the  cliffs,  and  the 
ruin  of  'Armah,  probably  representing  Kirjath  Jearim, 
stands  among  the  thickets  on  the  southern  brink.  As 

MOSQUE  OF  THE  FOUNTAIN,  'AIN  kXrIM. 
Peasant-women  washing  clothes  by  beating  them  on  blocks   thc  SpurS  break  doWU  Suddenly  Oil  the  WCSt,  the  gOrge 


204 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


opens  into  a  broad  corn  vale  between  rounded  chalky  hills,  and  here  lie  the  ruins  of 
Bethshemesh  amid  its  olives,  and  on  the  north  Sur'ah,  the  ancient  Zoreah,  with  the  white 
shrine  of  Neby  Samat,  the  traditionary  representative  of  Samson.  This  part  of  the  valley  is 
the  biblical  Vale  of  Sorek,  up  which  the  lowing  kine  brought  the  ark  in  the  straight  way 
through  the  corn-fields  from  the  sandy  downs  of  Ekron. 

The  present  ecclesiastical  tradition  which  identifies  Wady  Beit  Hantna  with  the  ancient 
Valley  of  Elah  is  traceable  only  as  far  back  as  the  fourteenth  century,  and  is  entirely  devoid 
of  foundation.  The  true  Valley  of  Elah  is  identified  with  the  present  Wady-es-Sunt,  by  the 
recovery  of  Socoh  on  its  southern  border,  and  is  the  next  main  drain  of  the  country  south  of 
the  Wady  Beit  Hanina.  It  has  its  head  near  Hebron,  and  runs  northward  and  westward 
past  Keilah,  Hareth,  Adullam,  and  Socoh,  debouching  into  the  Philistine  plains  at  Tell-es- 
Safy,  the  probable  site  of  Gath.  The  site  of  David's  victory  over  Goliath,  now  shown 
north-west  of  Jerusalem,  was  more  correctly  fixed  in  the  sixth  century  by  the  pilgrim 
Theodorus  between  Jerusalem  and  Eleutheropolis,  at  a  place  which  he  calls  Mount  Buzana. 
The  real  Valley  of  Elah  (now  Wady-es-Sunt)  was  the  theatre  of  many  of  David's  adventures, 
and  the  hold  of  Adullam,  the  copses  of  Hareth,  Keilah  on  its  steep  hill,  with  the  white 
cliff  of  Gath  guarding  the  entrance  to  the  fruitful  corn  vale  dotted  with  dark  terebinths,  were 
all  in  turn  the  refuges  which  he  sought  when  fleeing  from  the  face  of  Saul. 

The  village  of  Kolonia,  which  has  been  mentioned  above,  is  also  a  place  celebrated  in 
Jewish  history,  although  its  proximity  to  the  capital  forbids  us  to  accept  the  proposed 
identification  of  the  place  with  the  New  Testament  Emmaus.  "  There  was  a  place,"  says 
the  Mishna,  "  below  Jerusalem  called  Mozah  :  thither  the  people  went  down  and  gathered 
drooping  willow  branches,  and  they  came  and  erected  them  at  the  side  of  the  altar  with  their 
tops  bending  over  the  altar."  The  Jewish  commentators  translate  the  Hebrew  name  by  the 
Latin  Colonia ;  and  as  the  willows  may  still  be  found  near  the  stream  of  Kolonia,  while  the 
ruin  of  Beit  Mizzeh  near  the  village  seems  to  preserve  the  name  of  Mozah,  there  seems 
good  reason  to  suppose  that  the  modern  fashion  of  making  a  summer  day's  excursion  from 
the  capital  to  the  little  restaurant  in  Wady  Beit  Hanina  is  a  survival  of  the  old  Hebrew 
custom  of  coming  down  to  Kolonia  for  the  willow  branches  used  during  the  Feast  of  the 
Tabernacles,  on  the  13th  of  Tizri,  and  the  21st  of  the  same  month,  or  in  the  middle  of 
September.  It  was  probably  at  Mozah  also  that  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  danced  in  the 
vineyards  on  the  same  festal  occasion,  when  they  sang  an  invitation  to  the  youthful  spectators, 
the  words  of  which  have  come  down  to  us  at  the  present  day  :  "  Behold,  O  young  man,  whom 
wilt  thou  choose  :  look  not  for  beauty,  but  for  birth ;  favour  is  deceitful,  beauty  is  vain,  but  she 
that  feareth  the  Lord,  she  shall  be  praised." 

'Ain  Karim,  the  ancient  Carem  of  Judah,  is  a  site  now  consecrated  by  numerous  eccle- 
siastical traditions.  It  contains  a  Latin  monastery  founded  by  the  Marquis  de  Nointel,  the 
ambassador  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  and  a  church  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Baptist  (see 
page  209),  with  a  white  dome,  which  forms  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  distance,  rising  beside 


206 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


the  black  cypresses  of  the  convent  garden.  The  population  of  the  village  is  now  about  six 
hundred  souls,  including  one  hundred  Latin  Christians.  There  are  also  a  few  nuns  of  the 
order  of  the  Sisters  of  Zion,  who  assist  the  Franciscan  monks  by  the  education  of  the  native 
girls  (see  page  205). 

As  early  as  the  twelfth  century  the  site  of  'Ain  Karim  was  fixed  by  tradition  as  that  of 
the  summer  residence  of  Zacharias,  the  father  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  was  regarded  as  the 
place  of  St.  John's  birth  and  the  "city  of  Judah"  where  the  Salutation  occurred.  It  was  called 
Locus  Silvestris  and  Domus  Zacharise,  and  in  the  fifteenth  century  John  Poloner  found  there 
a  church  in  two  stories — probably  that  is  with  a  vault,  the  upper  church  having  been  destroyed 
by  the  Saracens.  He  mentions  a  cleft  in  the  rock  where  the  ground  opened  to  conceal  the 
infant  Baptist  during  the  persecution  of  Herod  at  the  time  of  the  Bethlehem  massacre,  and  a 
fountain  beside  the  road  where  the  Virgin  rested  on  the  occasion  of  her  visit  to  Elisabeth. 
The  former  tradition  now  attaches  to  a  chapel  built  in  i860,  and  supposed  to  mark  the  site 
of  the  house  of  Zacharias  (see  page  207).  The  spring  near  the  village  is  still  called  the 
"  Fountain  of  our  Lady  Mary." 

These  traditions  are  not  traceable  further  back  than  Crusading  times.  They  belong  to 
that  extraordinary  system  of  minute  localisation  of  sacred  spots  which  spread  over  Palestine 
under  the  Latin  kings.  The  number  of  sacred  places  in  Jerusalem  was  increased  three  or 
four  fold  after  the  Crusading  conquest,  churches  and  chapels  were  built  all  over  the  land,  and 
each  claimed  to  enclose  some  sacred  spot  or  to  contain  some  precious  relic.  The  Crusaders 
were  ignorant  in  many  cases  of  the  ancient  traditions  of  the  Church  preserved  in  the 
itineraries  and  pilgrim  journals  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries  ;  and  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities  who  determined  the  sacred  sites  shown  to  the  devout  warriors  of  the  twelfth 
century  can  have  bestowed  but  little  care  on  the  study  of  scriptural  topography.  With  the 
exception  of  the  most  important  sacred  sites,  it  is  rare  to  find  the  Crusaders'  church  standing 
anywhere  near  the  Byzantine  chapel  which  claimed  to  occupy  the  same  sacred  site.  The 
Byzantine  traditions  seem  sometimes  to  have  been  derived  from  Jewish  sources,  and  are 
in  such  cases  very  valuable  ;  but  the  Crusading  traditions  were  more  remarkable  for  their 
startling  originality  than  for  their  reliability. 

But  the  process  of  multiplication  of  sacred  sites  did  not  cease  in  the  twelfth  century; 
their  numbers  grew  steadily,  and  many  new  ones  were  added  in  the  fifteenth  and  even  later. 
Within  the  last  ten  years  new  discoveries  in  sacred  topography  have  been  made  in  Nazareth 
and  at  other  places,  and  every  chapel  in  the  country  pretends  to  possess  some  unique  claim  to 
veneration.  At  'Ain  Karim  the  twelfth-century  traditions  were  supplemented  by  others  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  and  the  rock-cut  cell  of  St.  John,  now  called  El  Habs,  is  a  site 
apparently  not  dating  earlier  than  the  fifteenth  century.  The  fertile  valley  of  Beit  Hantna, 
between  'Ain  Karim  and  the  ridge  of  Soba,  is  now  known  as  the  "  Wilderness  of  St.  John," 
and  supposed  to  be  the  desert  to  which  the  Baptist  retired ;  which  modern  scholars,  however, 
identify  with  the  dreary  waste  west  of  the  Dead  Sea. 


PHILIFS  FOUNTAIN. 


207 


As  we  approach  the  capital  the  number  of  traditional  sites  increases,  and  the  scenes 
of    many  scriptural 
events  are  grouped  at 
convenient  distances 
round      the  Holy 
City.     The  traveller 
who  crosses  the  bare 
ridge     behind    'A  in 
Karim  by  the  curious 
cairns     which  form 
such  conspicuous  fea- 
tures on  the  sky-line 
from  the  neighbour- 
hood   of  Jerusalem, 
finds  his  way  down  to 
the  flat  stony  valley 
called  Wady-el- Werd, 
the  "  Vale  of  Roses," 
and  here  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley 
we  find  a  fifteenth-century  traditional  site 
in  the  fountain  called  by  the  natives  'Ain 
Haniyeh,  but  by  the  Christians  Philip's 
Fountain  (see  page  210).     The  spring 
breaks    out    from    beneath   a    kind  of 
masonry    apse    flanked    by  Corinthian 
pilasters,  and  probably  marking  the  site 
of  an  early  chapel.    A  small  niche  exists 
in  the  apse,  and  remains  of  masonry  are 
scattered  round  in  the  valley  bed. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the 
tradition  became  attached  to  this  site,  or 
how  the  chariot  of  the  Ethiopian  servant 
of  Queen  Candace  can  have  been  sup- 
posed to  have  escaped  entire  destruction 
in  the  rugged  and  pathless  ravine  where 
the  spring  breaks  out.  It  is,  however, 
certain  that  the  tradition  was  transferred 
at  a  late  period  from  another  site.  In 


the  fifteenth  century  it  is  first  mentioned, 


WELL  OF  ZACHARIAS  AND  ELISABETH,  'AIN  KARIM. 
Near  the  supposed  site  of  their  summer  dwelling,  where  the  Virgin  is  said  to 
have  visited  them. 


208 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


apparently  in  its  present  position,  by  John  Poloner.  In  the  fourteenth  century  Marino  Sanuto 
identifies  Philip's  Fountain  with  En  Hakkore,  or  the  Fountain  of  the  Jaw  Bone,  famous  in 
the  history  of  Samson,  and  which  was  at  that  period  supposed  to  have  been  near  Beit  Jibrin, 
at  the  edge  of  the  Philistine  plain.  In  earlier  times  the  fountain  where  Philip  baptized  the 
eunuch  was  shown  opposite  the  ruin  of  Bethsura,  on  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Hebron. 
The  Bordeaux  pilgrim  mentions  a  chapel  on  this  spot,  the  ruins  of  which  still  remain  close 
to  the  fine  spring  called  'Ain  Dhirweh,  under  a  low  cliff  above  which  the  village  of  Halhul 
stands  on  the  hill-top. 

Wady-el- Werd  obtains  its  name  from  the  cultivation  of  roses  in  the  valley.  The  rose 
is  rarely  seen  in  Palestine,  but  appears  to  thrive  well  in  this  place,  and  is  used  for  the 
preparation  of  the  attar  of  roses.  According  to  the  Babylonian  Talmud  a  single  rose  garden 
existed  in  Jerusalem,  dating  back  to  the  time  of  "  the  first  prophets,"  that  is  to  say,  to  the 
period  preceding  the  Captivity.  The  rose  will  not,  however,  grow  wild  in  so  hot  a  climate 
as  that  of  southern  Palestine,  although  the  dog-rose  is  found  on  Lebanon  and  on  the  heights 
of  Hermon.  The  best  authorities  are  agreed  that  the  "  Rose  of  Sharon  "  mentioned  in  the 
Song  of  Songs  is  the  white  narcissus  which  grows  in  such  profusion  in  the  maritime  plain. 
The  Targums  translate  the  original  Hebrew  in  this  sense,  and  the  modern  Arabic  name  of 
the  narcissus  {buseil)  is  radically  identical  with  the  Hebrew  hahutzeleth,  rendered  "  rose  "  in 
our  version. 

If  instead  of  crossing  by  'Ain  Karim  to  'Ain  Haniyeh  the  traveller  follows  the  main 
road  from  Kolonia  to  the  capital,  he  will  find  scenery  fully  as  picturesque  and  interesting 
as  that  already  described.  Ascending  by  a  steep  zigzag  he  reaches  the  edge  of  the  Jerusalem 
plateau,  and  will  turn  to  cast  a  look  on  the  road  just  past,  soon  hidden  by  the  brow  of  the 
watershed  ridge.  Beneath  him  lie  the  dark  gardens  of  Kolonia,  and  directly  opposite  rises 
the  ridge  on  which  Kastal  stands,  on  a  hia-h  knoll  shuttinor-  out  the  view  of  the  maritime 
plain.  The  olive-yards  of  'Ain  Karim  are  visible  on  the  left,  with  bare  ridges  rising  in  broad 
steps  like  those  of  an  amphitheatre,  and  due  to  the  regular  stratification  of  the  limestone. 
On  the  right  the  same  valley  is  seen  winding  down  from  the  chalky  plateau  where  stands  the 
curious  conical  mound  called  Taliel-el-Ful,  and  the  ridges  beyond  are  equally  rocky  and 
barren  in  appearance  (see  pages  i88  and  213).  The  view  is  here  bounded  by  the  hill-crest 
on  which  the  tall  minaret  of  Neby  Samwil  stands  out  against  the  sky,  and  on  the  south  side 
of  the  valley  the  village  of  Lifta  is  visible,  perched  on  the  edge  of  a  precipitous,  descent. 
This  village  has  been  identified  by  some  authors  with  the  "  Fountain  of  the  Water  of 
Nephtoah,"  which  lay  on  the  border  of  Judah  ;  but  it  is  far  more  probably  the  ancient  Eleph, 
a  city  of  Benjamin. 

As  the  traveller  recalls  the  scenes  of  this  mountain  district,  he  will  see  in  imagination  the 
tall  Philistines  in  their  mail  coats  and  bronze  helmets  flying  before  the  despised  herdsmen  of 
Judah,  armed  only  with  goads  or  mattocks.  He  will  recall  the  handful  of  ill-disciplined  zealots 
driving  back  the  trained  soldiers  of  Antioch  from  the  hill  of  Beth-horon.    He  will  see  in  his 


THE  KING'S  MOUNTAIN. 


209 


mind's  eye  Judas  and  his  brethren  stealing  down  in  the  darkness  and  massing  their  troops  at 
early  dawn  hidden  among  the  folds  of  the  chalk  downs  south  of  Emmaus.  Finally,  he  will  in 
fancy  behold  the  band  of  starved  but  unconquerable  devotees  who  looked  down  from  the 
rocks  of  Bether  on  the  impassable  girdle  of  wall  and  camp  drawn  round  their  stronghold  by 


ALTAR  OF  CHURCH  OF  ST.  JOHN,  'AIN  KARIM. 
On  the  north  side  of  the  altar  seven  steps  descend  to  a  crypt,  the  alleged  birthplace  of  the  Baptist.    The  monks  and  brethren  are 

chiefly  Spaniards. 


the  British  legions  of  Severus.  It  is  the  same  tale  of  indomitable  courage,  constant  devotion 
to  the  faith,  and  skill  in  the  tactics  of  mountain  warfare  that  is  repeated  at  each  famous  site ; 
but  it  is  ever  a  tale  of  struggle  and  misery,  and  the  festal  scene  annually  witnessed  at  the 
willow  brook  of  Kolonia  is  but  one  bright  spot  in  the  stern  history  of  the  King's  Mountain, 
It  has  been  mentioned  in  describing  the  church  of  Abu  Ghosh  that  the  Crusaders  fixed 
28 


2IO 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE, 


that  site  as  representing  Anathoth,  the  home  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  ;  and  since  the 

actual  site  of  this  village 
is  not  commonly  visited  by 
travellers  in  Palestine,  a  few 
words  of  description  may  be 
here  added,  Anathoth  was 
a  town  of  Benjamin,  and  is 
mentioned  as  re-peopled 
after  the  Captivity,  the  name 
occurring  with  those  of 
places  north  of  Jerusalem. 
According  to  the  Talmud  it 
was  built  by  a  giant  named 
Ahiman.  The  site  is  de- 
scribed by  Theodorus  in  the 
sixth  century  as  being  near 
Olivet  and  six  miles  from 
Jerusalem.  Marino  Sanuto 
also  marks  the  same  place 
on  his  curious  map,  and  we 
can  have  no  hesitation  in 
recognising  Anathoth  at  the 
modern  village  of  'Anata 
(see  page  211).  'Anata  is 
reached  by  a  road  which 
crosses  the  ridge  imme- 
diately north  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  and  which  runs 
down  to  Jericho  by  the 
great  gorge  of  Wady  Kelt. 
On  passing  the  ridge  the 
traveller  notices  some  curious 
stone  heaps  called  Rujum- 
el-Behimeh,  "  Cairns  of  the 
Beast,"  which  seem  to  be 
noticed  by  Marino  Sanuto 
in  the  fourteenth  century, 
who  identifies  them  with  the 
stone  of  Bohan,  which  was 


•AIN  HANIYEH,  IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  ROSES. 
Commonly  called  Philip's  Fountain,  and  regarded  as  a  sacred  place  by  the  Latins. 


'ANATA. 


211 


actually  east  of  Jericho.  The  village  itself 
is  remarkable  only  for  the  pillar  shafts  which 
have  been  built  into  the  walls  of  the  houses. 
The  tesselated  pavement  of  a  fair-sized 
church  was  discovered  in  1874  on  the  open 
ground  immediately  west  of  the  hamlet,  and 
the  site  was  no  doubt  once  consecrated  to 
the  prophet  Jeremiah,  whose  birthplace  v/as 
at  Anathoth. 

The  view  from  the  high  spur  on  which 
the  village  stands  is  very  remarkable,  and 
presents  a  strong  contrast   to  those  which 
have   been    previously   described.  The 


There  are  the  remains  of  ancient  foundations  here,  and  the  quarries  still  supply 
Jerusalem  with  building  stone. 

high  ground  on  the  south  and  west  conceals  the  Holy  City  from 
sight,  but  on  the  east  and  north  the  spurs  falling  from  the  water- 
shed to  the  Jordan  Valley  are  spread  before  the  eye.  Long, 
narrow,  gleaming  ridges  of  chalk,  with  curious  conical  knolls  ca.sting 
peaked  shadows  on  the  nearest  slopes,  mark  the  action  of  rain  on 
the  softer  formation,  and  contrast  with  the  more  rounded  outline  of 
the  limestone  hill  west  of  the  watershed. 

Wady  Kelt,  a  deep  chasm  rent  in  the  mountains,  flanked  by 
sheer  precipices  many  hundred  feet  high,  is  unlike  any  of  the  ravines  which  drain  the 
western  hills  towards  the  Mediterranean  ;  and  the  entire  absence  of  vegetation,  the  sudden 
disappearance  of  the  dark  copses,  which  are  replaced  by  scattered  acacias  or  by  the  brown 
clumps  of  bellan — a  thorny  plant   of  the  family  of  Rosacise,  which  might  be  called  the 


212 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


heather  of  Palestine — makes  a  marked  contrast  between  the  eastern  and  western  slopes  of  the 
King's  Mountain.  The  grey  plain  of  Jericho  and  the  black  snake-like  line  of  the  Jordan 
jungle  are  dimly  seen  through  the  hot  haze  which  generally  hangs  over  the  valley.  The 
noble  ranges  of  Nebo  and  Mount  Gilead  close  the  view  on  the  east,  and  the  blue-grey 
mountain  of  bare  rock  now  called  Tell  'Asur — probably  the  ancient  Baal  Hazor — forms  the 
sky-line  on  the  north. 

The  little  dust-coloured  villages  perched  on  the  slopes  and  crowning  the  ridges  are  nearly 
all  famous  in  Jewish  history.  Nearest  to  the  spectator  is  Hozmeh,  the  ancient  Azmaveth, 
standing  on  a  hill-top  above  the  curious  rude  stone  monuments  called  "  Graves  of  the 
Amalekites" — or  "of  the  Sons  of  Israel."  Farther  away  is  Jeba,  the  ancient  Geba  of 
Benjamin,  where  Jonathan  smote  the  Philistine  garrison,  and  where  the  Benjamites  were 
almost  exterminated.  Michmash,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  great  passage,  lies  low,  and  is 
hidden  by  higher  ground  ;  and  Parah  of  Benjamin  is  recognisable  in  the  ruins  above  the 
beautiful  pool  of  'Ain  Farah,  in  the  gorge  east  of  Jeba.  Still  farther  away  lie  Bethel,  Ai, 
Rimmon,  Ephron,  and  other  sites  of  minor  interest.  On  a  lower  spur  between  Anathoth  and 
Azmaveth  is  a  ruin  with  ancient  wells  marking  the  site  now  called  'Alnut,  and  in  the  book 
of  Ezra,  Almon  or  Alemeth.  This  place  has  an  interest  not  generally  recognised,  for, 
according  to  the  Targums,  Almon  was  identical  with  the  long-sought  Bahurim,  famous  in  the 
history  of  David.  Of  the  position  of  Bahurim  we  have  but  little  indication  in  Scripture.  It 
was  on  David's  route  from  Jerusalem  to  the  Jordan  Valley,  and  apparently  in  the  territory  of 
Benjamin,  and  certainly  beyond  the  brow  of  the  range  of  Olivet.  It  appears  that  the  road 
ran  beneath  the  hillside  near  Bahurim,  for  Shimei  "  went  along  on  the  hillside,"  casting  stones 
on  the  patient  monarch,  who  accepted  his  curses  and  his  penitence  with  equal  dignity.  All 
these  requisites  are  found  at  'Alnut.  The  ancient  highway  to  Jericho  descends  by  the  spur 
on  which  the  city  stood,  after  passing  the  brow  of  the  hill  near  Anathoth ;  the  ruin  lies  well 
within  the  limits  of  the  territory  of  Benjamin,  and  Jewish  tradition  identifies  the  site  by  the 
later  name  which  the  place  still  retains.  It  was  then,  perhaps,  in  one  of  those  ancient  wells 
still  existing  in  the  ruins  that  Jonathan  and  Ahimaaz  lay  hidden  beneath  the  parched  corn 
spread  in  the  sun  in  the  court  of  a  man's  house  in  Bahurim. 

The  thirty  miles  of  road  between  Jerusalem  and  Shechem  are  probably  better  known  to 
the  majority  of  travellers  than  any  other  portion  of  the  country  ;  with  exception,  perhaps,  of 
the  high-road  between  Jaffa  and  the  Holy  City.  Yet  there  are  many  points  of  interest  along 
this  northern  route  which  are  unnoticed  in  even  the  latest  guide-book,  but  are  not  the  less 
worthy  of  attention  from  all  who  are  interested  in  the  antiquities  of  Palestine.  Some  of  the 
most  interesting  of  these  unnoticed  sites  may  therefore  be  briefly  described  in  the  succeeding 
pages. 

Passing  beneath  the  arch  of  the  "  Pillar  Gate,"  as  the  Damascus  Gate  is  called  by  the 
Moslems — which,  with  its  crenellated  parapet  and  flanking  towers,  is  the  most  picturesque 
entrance  to  the  city — the  traveller  sets  out  along  a  stony  lane  between  drystone  walls  and 


JEREMIAH'S  GROTTO. 


213 


broad  olive  groves.  On  his  right  are  the  steep  cliff,  and  the  cavern  called  since  the  fifteenth 
century  "Jeremiah's  Grotto,"  where  the  tombs  of  Sultan  Ibrahim  and  Barukh-ed-Din,  Kady 
of  Jerusalem,  are  shown ;  which  cavern  once,  perhaps,  formed  part  of  the  great  quarries 
immediately  south.  This  place,  according  to  Jewish  tradition,  was  once  the  "  House  of 
Stoning,"  or  place  of  public  execution  according  to  the  law.  Between  the  cliff  and  the  road  is 
a  garden  plot,  in  which  remains  of  a  Crusading  building  of  large  size  were  laid  bare  in  1873. 
The  discovery  of  a  series  of  stone  mangers  identifies  this  ruin  with  the  Asnerie,  or  Templars' 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  SH'ApiT,  ON  THE  SUPPOSED  SITE  OF  NOB,  THE  CITY  OF  THE  PRIESTS. 

The  conical  hill  in  the  background  is  the  artificial  mound  called  Taliel-el-Ffil.    By  some  writers  Nob  has  been  identified  with  El  Isawtyeh, 

a  village  in  the  same  district. 

hostelry,  described  as  having  been  just  without  the  old  Gate  of  St.  Stephen,  the  present 
Damascus  Gate.  There  are  also  remains  of  a  hermit's  cave  and  charnel-house  close  by,  and 
the  plot  of  ground  would  probably  well  reward  the  explorer  who  could  command  sufficient 
funds  entirely  to  clear  it  out. 

The  stony  lane  leads  through  the  middle  of  the  ancient  Jerusalem  cemetery,  lining  the 
slopes  of  Wady-el-Joz — the  Valley  of  Nuts — and  leaves  on  the  right  the  rock-cut  tomb  of 
Simon  the  Just,  the  catacombs  of  the  royal  family  of  Adiabene,  and  many  other  sepulchres  of 
the  ancient  city.     Traversing  the  olives,  it  climbs  a  long  hill  and  reaches  the  watershed 


214 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


ridge  at  a  place  called  Ras  Sherifeh,  "the  high  hill  top,"  the  crest  whence  Jerusalem  first 
comes  fully  in  view  when  approached  from  the  north.  Turning  back  to  obtain  a  last  glance 
of  the  Holy  City,  the  spectator  looks  across  the  dark  olives  to  the  long  line  of  grey 
battlemented  wall,  behind  which  rise  the  tower  and  dome  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  Church,  and 
to  the  left,  and  lower  down,  the  great  dome  of  the  Kubbet-es-Sakhra,  crowned  with  its 
gilded  crescent  and  covered  with  flights  of  doves. 
On  the  extreme  right,  the  ugly  Byzantine  cathedral 
built  by  the  Russians,  with  its  white  wall  and  heavy 
cupola,  is  the  most  conspicuous  object ;  and  the 
foreground  is  formed  by  the  great  stone  heaps  west 
of  the  road,  which  one  is 
tempted  to  imagine  may 
have   formed   part   of  the 


MObQUE  AND  TOMB  AT  ER  RAM,  THE  RAMAH  OF  BENJAMIN. 
A  group  of  peasants  m  the  foreground  :  the  woman  wearing  a  head-dress  formed 


parapet  of  the  Roman  camp  at  the  time  of  the  great 
siege. 

Looking  northward,  a  desolate  scene  unfolds  before 
the  eye.  A  plateau  of  white  chalk,  bare  and  strewn 
with  stones  ;  a  village  among  olives,  a  curious  conical  mound,  and  distant  ridges  of  hard 
grey  limestone,  their  sides  covered  with  patches  of  rich  red  soil.  This  point  of  view  is 
one  whence  many  a  famous  soldier  has  first  looked  down  on  the  Holy  City.  It  was 
probably  on  this  plateau  that  Alexander  the  Great,  ascending  from  Antipatris,  met  the 
venerable  Jaddua,  clothed  in  his  pontifical  vestments,  and  heading  the  procession  of  Jewish 


SH'AFAT. 


215 


notables,  whom  the  conqueror  received  so  courteously.  It  was  here  that  Titus  fixed  his  camp 
at  Scopus,  the  place  whence  the  great  walls  and  golden  facade  of  the  Temple  were  first  clearly 
seen.  It  was  in  this  stony  slope  that  the  first  Crusaders  languished  under  the  fierce  summer 
sun,  laboriously  constructing  their  wooden  towers  with  materials  foraged  from  a  great  distance, 
while  man  and  beast  died  daily  in  camp  from  want  of  water  and  of  food. 

The  village  immediately  to  the  north  is  now  called  Sh'afat,  and  the  name  is  said  by  the 
inhabitants  to  have  been  that  of  a  king  of  Jerusalem — evidently  Jehosaphat,  as  the  Arabic 
word  contains  all  the  radical  letters  of  that  monarch's  name.     In  the  twelfth  and  fourteenth 


RUINS  OF  CRUSADERS'  CHURCH  AT  EL  BIREH,  THE  ANCIENT  BEEROTH. 
Nothing  is  left  of  this  building  but  its  three  apses,  the  north  wall,  and  a  fragment  of  the  south  wall.     The  space  within  is  now  converted 

into  a  corn-field. 


centuries,  a  village  called  Jehosaphat  is  mentioned  north  of  the  capital  and  seems  to  be  the 
same  place.  Possibly  also  the  Valley  of  Jehosaphat,  near  Jerusalem,  mentioned  by  the 
prophet  Joel,  may  have  lain  in  this  direction,  though  traditionally  identified  with  the  Brook 
Kedron.  Sh'afat  seems  to  be  an  ancient  site,  and  may  perhaps  be  best  identified  with  Nob, 
the  city  of  the  priests,  which  lay  apparently  in  sight  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  main  line  of  the 
Assyrian  advance  from  the  north,  if  we  may  so  interpret  the  words  of  Isaiah,  "  Yet  shall  he 
remain  at  Nob  that  day,  he  shall  shake  his  hand  against  the  Mount  of  the  Daughter  of  Zion, 
the  hill  of  Jerusalem"  (see  page  213). 


2l6 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Another  place  which  must  have  occupied  the  same  or  a  neighbouring  site  is  Mizpeh,  the 
place  of  view,"  which  was  "  over  against  Jerusalem,"  and  possibly  identical  with  the  Sapha,  or 
"prospect"  whence  Alexander  first  saw  the  city,  and  with  the  later  Scopus,  or  "  place  of 
outlook."    The  name  Sh'afat  might  indeed  be  thought  to  be  a  corruption  of  Mizpeh  or  Sapha, 
although  in  its  present  form  quite  unconnected  with  those  words.    There  is  also  some  reason 


A  HALT  FOR  THE  NIGHT  IN  THE  KHAN  OF  EL  BIREH,  THE  ANCIENT  BEEROTH. 

The  village  owes  its  ancient  and  modern  names,  which  signify  "cistern,"  to  the  abundant  supply  of  water  in  its  neighbourhood.    The  khan 

is  near  to  the  chief  spring. 

for  supposing  that  Mizpeh  and  Nob  were  different  names,  used  at  different  periods,  for  that 
city  in  the  land  of  Benjamin  where  the  Tabernacle  stood  from  the  death  of  Eli  until  the 
time  of  the  massacre  by  Saul  of  the  house  of  Abimelech. 

Immediately  north-east  of  Sh'afat,  and  east  of  the  road,  is  the  curious  mound  called 
Taliel-el-Ful,  "the  Hillock  of  the  Bean"  (see  pages  i88  and  213).    Excavations  made  in  this 


TALIEL  EL-FUL. 


217 


mound  by  the  Royal  Engineers  show  it  to  be  an  artificial  platform,  supported  by  rude  walls, 
having  originally  either  a  lower  surrounding  platform  or  flights  of  steps  leading  up.  There  is 
nothing  to  show  the  date  of  the  structure,  nor  is  there  any  known  reference  to  it  in  history ; 
but  its  commanding  position  seems  to  indicate  that  it  may  have  been  intended  for  a  beacon. 
Jerusalem  is  plainly  seen  from 
the  top,  and  almost  all  the  towns 
of  Benjamin  as  far  north  as 
Bethel  are  visible.  There  are 
no  traces  of  any  other  buildings 
round  the  platform,  and  the  site 
is  that  of  an  isolated  monument, 
not  of  a  former  city  or  village. 
It  is  curious  that  so  cautious 


To  the  north-west,  in  the  highest  part  of  the  village,  are  the 
ruins  of  a  tower  with  ancient  substructions. 


a  writer  as  the  great 
Dr.  Robinson  should  have 
identified  Taliel  -  el  -  Ful 
with  Gibeah  of  Saul.  In 
the  first  place  there  is  no 

connection  between  the  two  names,  nor  is  the  distance  between 
Taliel-el-Fiil  and  Jerusalem  more  than  two-thirds  that  mentioned  by 
Josephus  as  separating  Gabaoth  Saule  from  the  capital.    The  latter 

village  was  by  the  "  Valley  of  Thorns ; "  and  we  are  thus,  apparently,  directed  to  Gibeah  of 

Benjamin,  standing  on  the  brink  of  the  present  Wady  Suweintt,  "  the  valley  of  the  little 

thorn  tree,"  which  runs  beneath  the  ancient  cliff  of  Seneh,  or  "  the  thorn  bush."    Gibeah  also 

was  in  view  of  Michmash,  and  the  latter  place  is  invisible  from  Taliel-el-Ful ;  while,  as  already 

noticed,  there  are  no  remains  of  any  town  nearer  than  Sh'afat  to  this  curious  conical  stone 
29 


2l8 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


heap,  which  forms  so  prominent  a  feature  on  the  barren  plateau.  Following  the  road  which 
descends  gradually  north  of  Taliel-el-Ful,  a  fine  view  of  the  rugged  ranges  round  Neby  Samwil 
is  obtained  ;  and  the  two  ancient  fallen  milestones,  one  of  which  is  inscribed  with  the  names 
of  the  Antonine  emperors,  are  passed.  The  road  here  bifurcates,  one  branch  leading  towards 
Gibeon  and  Beth-horon  on  the  left,  the  other  passing  by  the  village  of  Er  Ram,  which  is 
conspicuous  for  the  white  domed  tomb-house  on  the  hill-top  (see  page  214).  Er  Ram  is  the 
ancient  Ramah  of  Benjamin  ;  but  it  seems  too  far  south  to  represent  the  more  famous  town 
of  Ramah,  the  home  and  burial-place  of  Samuel,  which  was  in  Mount  Ephraim. 

The  flat  depression  now  gained  is  the  head  of  the  great  valley  called  Wady  Beit  Hanina, 
which  has  been  previously  described ;  and  the  low  ridge  beyond  it  on  the  west  conceals  from 
view  the  terraced  hill  of  Gibeon.  A  crumbling  mound,  with  traces  of  ruins,  exists  beside 
the  Beth-horon  road,  just  beyond  the  valley-head,  and  is  one  of  the  sites  generally  overlooked. 
Its  present  name  'Adasa,  and  its  position,  about  thirty  stadia  from  Beth-horon,  and  the 
tradition  common  among  the  peasantry  of  a  former  conflict  at  the  place,  are  indications 
which  when  taken  together  seem  clearly  to  indicate  that  this  ruin  is  the  site  of  'Adasa,  where 
Judas  Maccabseus  defeated  and  slew  the  impious  Nicanor,  who  was  advancing  from  Beth- 
horon  with  the  avowed  intention  of  destroying  the  Temple.  The  bare  plateau  thus  gains 
interest  in  our  eyes  as  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  gallant  of  the  battles  fought  by  the  great 
Hasmonian  leader. 

After  passing  Er  Ram  the  path  leads  under  the  hill  of  'Attara,  the  Astaroth  of  the 
mediaeval  writers,  and  thus  reaches  the  village  of  Btreh,  the  ancient  Beeroth  of  Benjamin,  a 
rambling  stone  hamlet  with  a  fine  spring,  and  ruins  of  a  beautiful  Gothic  church  and  of  an 
ancient  khan  (see  pages  215  and  216). 

Pausing  by  the  spring  which  runs  out  beneath  the  walls  of  a  little  building  which  forms 
the  village  guest-house,  we  may  glance  at  the  history  of  the  village  and  its  church.  Beeroth 
of  Benjamin  is  not  a  site  conspicuous  in  Jewish  history,  though  probably  identical  with  the 
Berea  where  Bacchides  collected  his  forces  before  the  fatal  battle  of  Berzetho,  in  which  Judas 
Maccabaeus  was  slain. 

The  church,  which  was  built  by  the  Franks  in  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  was 
consecrated  to  St.  Mary,  and  the  town,  which  boasted  of  Frankish  burghers,  was  given  by 
Baldwin  IV.  to  the  Canons  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  with  Mezr'ah — not  far  north — in  exchange 
for  Kefr  Malik  and  'Ain  Kinia,  villages  in  the  same  district.  The  place  was  sometimes 
called  Magina  by  the  Franks,  and  sometimes  Grand  Mahomery,  in  contradistinction  to  Little 
Mahomery,  or  Beit  Surik. 

A  tradition  mentioned  by  Maundrell  makes  Bireh  to  be  the  place  where,  after  going  a 
day's  journey  with  their  company,  Joseph  and  Mary  found  that  the  child  Jesus  had  tarried 
behind  in  Jerusalem.  The  story  is  not,  however,  mentioned  in  the  Byzantine  accounts  of 
the  country,  nor  even  in  the  Crusading  descriptions  before  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  apses  and  side  walls,  with  beautiful  carved  capitals  of  various  designs  once  supporting 


BIREH. 


219 


the  roof  arches,  are  all  now  remaininor  of  the  church.     The  walls  are  of  unusual  thickness, 


1^ 


but  the  pillar  shafts  are 
graceful  and  slender,  unlike 
the  heavy  columns  which 
occur  in  the  earliest  speci- 
mens of  Crusading  architecture.  The 
khan  appears  to  be  partly  constructed 
from  ancient  materials,  and  the  sloping 
outer  wall  has  the  appearance  of 
mediaeval  work.  During  the  reign  of 
the  Latin  kings  Bireh  was  evidently  a 
place  of  importance,  and  was  rebuilt  by 
the  Canons  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  In 
132 1  Marino  Sanuto  speaks  of  it  as  "a 
city  of  considerable  size,"  although  in 
1 2 10  it  was  found  lying  entirely  in  ruins. 

Crossing  another  valley-head  the 
road  now  climbs  up  to  a  plateau  yet 
more  barren  than  the  country  already 
traversed.  Nothing  more  desolate  or 
bleak  can  be  well  imagined.  On  the 
left  a  white  slope  of  gleaming  chalk,  on 
the  right  a  low  cliff,  a  terraced  hill,  a 


c, » 


REMAINS  OF  A  CHURCH  AT  BEITIN. 
Said  to  have  been  erected  as  a  memorial  of  Jacob's  dream  at  Bethel. 


220 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


miserable  hamlet  of  half-ruinous  stone  huts,  with  a  central  high  house  or  tower.  Drystone 
walls  enclose  fields  scattered  with  loose  stones,  while  on  the  slopes  the  rock  is  grey  and 
bare,  without  a  single  blade  of  green  grass  and  almost  entirely  devoid  of  trees  or  shrubs. 
Such  is  the  site  of  one  of  the  most  famous  towns  of  Palestine,  for  the  modern  villaofe  of 
Beitin  represents  the  ancient  Bethel,  or  "  House  of  God"  (see  page  217). 

Only  one  other  city  of  Palestine,  namely,  Shechem,  is  noticed  earlier  in  the  Old  Testament 
history  than  is  Bethel.  The  second  altar  erected  by  Abraham  stood  between  Bethel  and  Ai, 
and  the  same  site  was  revisited  by  that  patriarch  on  his  return  from  Egypt,  Probably  the 
altar  was  still  standing  when  Jacob  fled  from  the  south  country  to  Harran  and  "  lighted  upon  a 
certain  place."  He  took  of  the  stones  of  "that  place  "  for  his  pillow,  and  called  the  name  of 
"  that  place"  Bethel  ;  but  the  name  of  the  city  near  which  the  "place"  was  situate  was  called 
originally  Luz,  Again,  the  "  place "  called  El  Bethel  at  Luz  is  mentioned  on  the  return 
route  of  Jacob  to  the  south,  and  the  same  word  "place"  is  used  four  times  in  this  chapter 
in  reference  to  Bethel. 

It  has  not  apparently  been  generally  recognised  that  the  Hebrew  word  thus  rendered  has 
a  special  significance,  being  the  same  employed  to  designate  the  "places"  of  the  Canaanites,  or 
idolatrous  shrines.  The  word  in  the  original  is  Makom,  identical  with  the  Arabic  Mukam  or 
"  standing  place,"  by  which  a  shrine  or  consecrated  spot  is  now  designated.  The  story  gains 
force  when  the  peculiar  meaning  of  the  term  is  thus  brought  out.  Jacob  came  to  a  certain 
shrine — probably  the  altar  originally  erected  by  his  grandfather  Abraham — and  taking  the 
stones  from  it  for  his  pillow,  slept  under  the  protection  of  the  hallowed  sanctuary,  which  was 
very  probably  respected  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring  city  of  Luz.  Just  so  at  the 
present  day  the  stranger  will  find  a  safe  retreat  in  the  vicinity  of  a  Moslem  Mukam,  placing 
himself  under  the  protection  of  the  tutelary  deity. 

From  the  sanctuary  the  name  seems,  by  the  time  at  which  the  Book  of  Joshua  was  written, 
to  have  been  transferred  to  the  neighbouring  city  of  Luz,  and  is  enumerated  as  that  of  one  of 
the  towns  of  Benjamin.  There  is  also  in  the  Book  of  Judges  an  unrecognised  reference  to 
Bethel  in  the  account  of  the  slaughter  of  the  Benjamites ;  for  by  "  the  House  of  God,"  where 
the  ark  was  in  those  days,  Josephus  understands  Bethel  to  be  intended,  and  this  interpretation 
is  strengthened  by  the  notice  in  the  same  chapter  of  the  highway  leading  from  Gibeah  to  the 
"  House  of  God,"  which  from  the  context  was  evidently  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
Benjamite  city.  Again,  in  the  time  of  Samuel  we  find  notice  of  three  men  "going  up  to 
God  to  Bethel,"  an  expression  which  shows  that  the  place  was  a  religious  centre  in  the  days 
of  Saul. 

Bethel  was  thus  apparently  a  venerated  shrine  throughout  the  earlier  period  of  Hebrew 
history  preceding  the  building  of  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem.  It  was  indeed — with  exception 
of  the  altar  near  Shechem — the  most  ancient  sanctuary  in  the  land,  and  there  was  nothing  in 
the  re-establishment  by  Jeroboam  of  the  same  site  as  a  religious  centre  which  would  have 
appeared  a  striking  innovation  in  the  eyes  of  the  Israelites.     It  was  a  mere  revival  of  an 


BETHEL. 


221 


ancient  religious  gathering,  as  the  golden  calves,  symbolic  of  Jehovah,  were  the  same  emblems 
which  had  been  sanctioned  by  Aaron  in  the  Wilderness  as  representing  the  national  deity. 

In  the  later  Jewish  history  the  names  Bethel,  "  the  House  of  God,"  and  Beth  Aven,  "the 
House  of  Nothingness,"  are  used  apparently  as  synonymous  terms  for  a  single  site.  Jewish 
commentators  state  that  the  two  places  were  identical,  and  in  the  name  Bethaun  we  see 
perhaps  the  early  corruption  whence  the  modern  title  Beitin  was  derived — a  form  which  was 
in  use  at  least  as  early  as  the  fourteenth  century. 

Barren  and  stony  as  the  bleak  plateau  of  Bethel  is  in  appearance,  it  is  nevertheless 
supplied  with  water  from  four  good  springs.  To  the  east  is  the  ruined  monastery  called 
Burj  Beitin ;  to  the  north  is  Deir  Shabib,  "  the  monastery  of  young  men  "  mentioned  in  the 
Cartulary  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  as  forming  part  of  the  property  of  that  church.  To  the 
south  are  remains  of  a  fine  ancient  reservoir  about  one  hundred  yards  in  length,  while  a 
great  valley  is  visible  running  down  toward  Michmash,  and  forming  probably  the  hiding-place 
where  the  Israelite  ambush  was  set  between  Bethel  and  Ai. 

Close  to  the  village  is  the  ruin  of  a  little  church  with  a  single  apse,  having  the  appearance 
of  earlier  work  than  that  of  the  Crusaders,  and  marking  the  site  where  it  was  supposed  that 
the  patriarch's  vision  of  angels  must  have  occurred  (see  page  219).  North  of  Beitin  is  a 
curious  circle  of  stones,  perhaps  so  arranged  by  a  freak  of  nature,  but  having  the  appearance 
of  a  rude  stone  monument.  East  of  the  reservoir  is  a  rock-cut  tomb,  probably  that  to  which 
Isaac  Chelo  refers  as  the  sepulchre  of  the  prophet  Ahijah  ;  and,  indeed,  its  position  on  the 
side  of  the  mount  is  one  which  might  not  unnaturally  be  expected  for  the  sepulchre  of  the 
man  of  God  who  testified  against  the  altar  in  Bethel — a  tomb  left  untouched  by  Josiah  on 
the  occasion  of  his  destruction  of  Jeroboam's  high  place. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  considerable  confusion  arose  respecting  the  site  of  Bethel.  In  the 
fourth  century  the  place  was  known,  and  St.  Jerome  speaks  of  "the  House  of  God,  where 
naked  upon  the  bare  ground  poor  Jacob  lay,  and,  placing  beneath  his  head  the  stone  which  is 
described  in  Zechariah  as  having  seven  eyes,  and  is  called  the  corner-stone  by  Isaiah,  saw  the 
ladder  stretching  even  to  Heaven." 

In  the  sixth  century  Theodorus  mentions  the  same  site,  but  the  majority  of  the  twelfth- 
century  pilgrims  pass  it  over  in  silence,  while  many  of  the  more  important  accounts  accept 
the  Samaritan  identification  of  Bethel  with  Mount  Gerizim.  Jacques  de  Vitray,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  even  supposes  Jerusalem  to  be  Bethel,  and  the  Sakhra  Rock,  in  the  Temple 
enclosure,  to  be  the  stone  that  had  formed  Jacob's  pillar,  and  which  is  traditionally  identified 
with  the  Lia  Fail,  or  "  Stone  of  Destiny,"  brought  from  Ireland  to  Scotland,  and  by 
Edward  III.  from  Scone  to  Westminster,  where  it  now  forms  part  of  the  coronation  chair. 
It  seems  indeed  clear  that  the  true  site  of  Bethel  was  unknown  to  the  Crusaders,  although  the 
village  was  sold  by  Hugh  of  Ibelin,  in  the  time  of  Baldwin  V.,  to  the  Canons  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre. 

A  short  divergence  from  the  main  road  eastward  brings  the  traveller  to  the  ruin  called 


222 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


THE   VILLAGE  OF  TAIYIBEH  FROM  THE  HEIGHTS 

OF  RUMMAN. 
'  The  former  is  said  to  represent  Ophrah  and  the  latter  Rimmon. 


El  Mukatir,  a  Byzantine  chapel  not 
improbably  marking  the  supposed 
site  of  Abraham's  altar;  and  the 
view  thence  extends  over  the  little  plateau 
where  stands  the  modern  village  of  Deir 
Diwan,  close  to  the  ruin  of  Haiyan,  which 
appears  to  be  the  true  site  of  Ai — a  city 
mentioned  in  Scripture  as  being  "  close  to " 
Bethel,  which,  is  distant  only  two  miles  from 
Haiyan. 

iM-om  this  detour  into  a  region  not  generally 
visited  by  the  traveller  we  must  now  return  to 
the  main  road  north  of  Bethel ;  and  here,  as  we 
ride  along  the  watershed  ridge,  an  interesting  and 
picturesque  view  opens  out  on  the  west.  A 


WADY-EL-JIB.  223 

deep  valley  (Wady-el~Jib)  runs  northward  between  steep  mountain  sides.  Terraces  of 
fig-trees  clothe  the  rugged  slopes  with  pale  green  foliage,  and  the  vine  is  cultivated  on  both 


WADY-EL-JIB. 

A  characteristic  example  of  a  valley  in  the  favoured  territory  of  Ephraim.    The  olive-trees,  shading  the  ancient  foot-paths,  proclaim  that 

a  village  is  near. 

sides  of  the  ravine.  The  Christian  village  of  Jufna  lies  in  the  widest  part  of  the  basin,  and 
farther  north  is  'Ain  Sinia;  while  on  the  western  hills  Bir-ez-Zeit  is  also  inhabited  by  Latins. 
These  three  sites  are  each  worthy  of  a  few  words  of  notice. 


224 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Jufna,  taking  its  name,  which  means  "  vine,"  from  the  vine  cultivation  surrounding  it,  is 
the  ancient  Gophna,  the  capital  of  one  of  the  ten  toparchies,  or  counties,  into  which  Judsea 
was  divided  about  the  Christian  era.  Gophna  is  unnoticed  in  the  Bible,  and  this  instance, 
like  that  of  Sepphoris  or  Tarichese  in  the  north,  and  of  Bethgubrin  in  the  south,  affords  a 
good  example  of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  important  towns  of  Palestine,  especially  of  the 
later  period,  are  not  mentioned  in  the  sacred  volume — a  fact  which  should  warn  us  not  to  be 
too  eager  in  the  endeavour  to  identify  important  ancient  sites  with  Biblical  towns.  Gophna 
is  mentioned  in  the  Talmud,  and  by  Josephus  in  his  account  of  the  march  of  Titus  from 
Samaria  on  Jerusalem.  It  is  shown  on  the  Peutinger  Tables,  the  Roman  survey  of  Palestine 
made  in  the  second  century  of  our  era.  It  contains  remains  of  a  ruined  tower  and  a  modern 
Latin  monastery.  The  ruins  of  the  old  Byzantine  church  of  St.  George  are  just  outside 
the  village. 

Bir-ez-Zeit,  a  good-sized  village  on  the  mountain  to  the  west  of  Gophna,  is  probably 
the  Berzetho  of  Josephus,  the  scene  of  the  last  fatal  battle  in  which  Judas  Maccabseus  lost 
his  life  in  the  year  i6i  B.C.  The  patriot  had  collected  a  force  of  three  thousand  men  at 
Il'asa,  near  Beth-horon,  and  advanced  to  intercept  the  communications  of  Bacchides,  who  had 
reached  Jerusalem  by  the  north  road  through  Samaria.  The  Greek  general  had,  however, 
learned  caution  by  former  misfortunes,  and  came  back  rapidly  to  Bireh  and  to  Bethel,  which 
lay  within  sight  of  the  Jewish  army,  occupying  the  high  ridge  which  is  visible  west  of  Wady- 
el-Jib.  A  furious  attack  on  the  eastern  wing  of  the  Greeks,  directed  no  doubt  against  their 
line  of  retreat  through  the  narrow  pass  hereafter  to  be  mentioned,  was  at  first  successful  ;  but 
the  forces  of  Judas  had  dwindled  by  desertion  during  the  night  to  only  eight  hundred  men, 
and  the  army  of  Bacchides  is  said  to  have  numbered  twenty  thousand  foot  and  two  thousand 
horse.  The  left  wing  closed  in  on  the  small  band  of  patriots,  and  Judas  was  slain  on  the 
rugged  mountain  side  after  a  short  career  of  seven  years  of  constant  fighting. 

'Ain  Sinia,  the  third  village  in  the  vicinity  of  Wady-el-Jib,  is  remarkable  for  the  rich 
cultivation  of  fig,  olive,  and  vine  which  fills  the  valley  and  climbs  the  hillside.  In  the  twelfth 
century  this  village,  called  Val  de  Curs  by  the  Franks,  was  given  to  the  Canons  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  It  seems  probable  that  the  site,  which  is  marked  by  numerous  old  rock-cut 
sepulchres  (one  having  a  Hebrew  inscription),  is  that  of  the  ancient  Jeshanah,  one  of  the 
three  fortresses.  Bethel,  Jeshanah,  and  Ephraim,  built  by  Abijah  to  guard  the  three  main 
approaches  by  which  Jeroboam  might  advance  on  Jerusalem. 

The  ancient  Roman  road  runs  from  Bethel  down  to  Gophna,  and  so  along  the  valley 
to  'Ain  Sinia,  thence  climbing  the  slope  of  a  hill  thickly  covered  with  olives,  to  join  the 
route  which  runs  along  the  watershed  and  descends  into  the  narrow  pass  which  formed  the 
natural  boundary  between  the  tribes  of  Benjamin  and  Ephraim.  The  region  which  we 
leave  behind  is  one  of  the  principal  Christian  districts  of  Southern  Palestine.  Ramallah — the 
white  village  so  conspicuous  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Sh'afat  and  Bireh — contains  a  Latin 
convent;  Jufna,  'Ain  'Arik,  Bir-ez-Zeit,  Jania,  Taiyibeh  (see  page  222),  and  Deir  Diwan  are 


THE  ROBBERS'  SPRING. 


225 


all  Christian  villages.  In  the  Middle  Ages  nearly  all  this  district  belonged  to  the  Church, 
twenty-one  villages  north  of  Jerusalem  having  been  given  by  Godfrey  to  the  Canons  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre,  while  Sinjil,  Bethel,  Turmus  'Ayya,  Mezrah,  Kefr  Malik,  and  others,  were 
acquired  later  by  this  powerful  body  of  ecclesiastics. 

Traces  of  the  Crusaders  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  district,  from  the  two  castles  which 
dominate  the  northern  pass,  to  the  rocky  fortress  of  Neby  Samwil  on  the  south  ;  at  Bireh, 
Beitin,  Jufna,  Taiyibeh,  Neby  Samwil,  and  Mukatir,  ancient  churches  and  chapels  remain  in 
ruins  ;  and  at  Arnutieh  and  other  places  there  are  small  forts  apparently  of  Crusading  origin. 

The  narrow  pass  which  we  now  approach  is  one  of  the  wildest  parts  of  the  road  between 
Nablus  and  Jerusalem,  which  here  becomes  a  mere  lane  thickly  strewn  with  loose  stones. 


SEILUN,  ON  THE  SITE  OF  SHILOH. 
Where  the  sacred  tent  and  the  ark  remained  for  four  centuries. 


To  the  left  of  the  road  a  square  building  of  large  drafted  stones  seems  probably  to  have  been 

a  Crusading  fort  or  hostel,  and  a  vertical  cliff  of  hard  rock  reaches  up  some  twenty  or  thirty 

feet,  while  the  steep  hill  above  is  terraced  and  planted  with  olives.    A  small  spring  drips 

out  of  the  precipice,  and  is  called  'Ain-el-Haramiyeh,  "  the  Robbers'  Spring."    On  the  flat 

rocky  bed  of  the  valley  a  little  coarse  grass  grows  near  the  water,  and  a  group  of  camels, 

tawny  and  dusty,  may  probably  be  found  reposing  in  the  shade,  while  their  drivers,  kneeling 

on  the  carefully  spread  abbas,  are  reciting  the  afternoon  prayer — a  ceremony  no  doubt 

religiously  observed  by  the  brigands  from  the  nearest  village,  who  once  haunted  the  gorge 

and  gave  its  name  to  the  spring.    To  the  right  of  the  road  an  extremely  steep  mountain-' 

side,  terraced  in  places,  and  in  others  belted  with  low  cliffs,  dominates  the  pass,  rising  more 
30 


226 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


than  a  thousand  feet  to  Tell '  Asur,  the 
highest  point  in  Southern  Palestine, 
a  mountain  of  bare  grey  rock,  with 
remains  of  an  old  Crusading  fort 
called  Burj-el-Lisaneh,  "  Tower  of  the 
Tongue."  From  the  summit  Mount 
llermon  is  clearly  visible  in  the  dis- 
tance— a  dome  of  snow  rising  behind 
the  lofty  tops  of  Ebal  and  Gerizim. 
A  more  lonely  place  at  sunset  or 


by  night  than  the  Robbers'  Spring 
can  hardly  be  imagined.  The  dark 
shadow  covers  the  valley  long  before 
the  orange  glow  has  faded  from  the 
upper  rocks  ;  and  the  cry  of  the  wild 
hawk,  or  the  howl  of  the  jackal,  with 
the  grumbling  of  the  camels,  are  the 
only  sounds  which  the  traveller  hears 
re-echoed  from  the  surrounding  pre- 
cipices. Looking  southward,  he  sees 
below  the  steep  path  a  rock-cut 
entrance   leadinor  to  a  small  tomb- 


ANCIENT   DOORWAY  AT   SHILOH,  AND    RUINS   OF   THE  "CONVENT 
CASTLE  "  IN  WADY  LUBBAN  (LEBONAH). 


SINJIL. 


227 


chamber  in  the  cliff,  and  the  view  is  closed  by  the  terraced  hill,  dark  with  olives,  on  the 
summit  of  which  stands  Burj  Bardawil,  "  Baldwin's  Tower,"  an  old  fortress  named,  no  doubt, 
after  one  of  the  Latin  kings,  and  commanding  the  approach  from  Nablus   to  Jerusalem 


A  THRESHING-FLOOR. 

Peasants  winnowing  grain  with  large  wooden  forka,  and  a  team  dragging  a  sledge,  the  under  surface  of  which  is  armed  with  sharp  flints,  to 

cut  up  the  straw. 


through  the  pass.  Even  within  the  last  half-century  the  castle  has  been  the  scene  of  faction 
fights  between  the  villagers  of  Yebrud,  'Ain  Abrud,  Selwad,  and  'Ain  Sinia. 

From  the  Robbers'  Spring  the  stony  lane  again  ascends  towards  a  fertile  plateau,  with 
a  steep  mountain  pass  in  front.  To  the  left,  on  the  hill,  is  the  village  of  Sinjil ;  to  the  right, 
in  the  plain,  that  of  Turmus  'Ayya.    Sinjil  is  one  of  the  few  places  in  Palestine  where  a 


228 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


Prankish  name  has  survived  ;  perhaps  because  the  town  was  founded  by  the  Franks,  and 
had  no  other  title.  Fetellus  informs  us  that  during  the  First  Crusade,  Raymond,  fourth  Count 
of  Toulouse,  "  dit  de  Saint  Gilles,"  advanced  by  this  road,  and  camped  at  a  certain  casale  on 
the  night  before  he  reached  the  Holy  City.  The  distances  given  show  that  this  casale — by 
which  word  William  of  Tyre  tells  us  was  meant  an  open  village  of  one  hundred  houses, 
paying  a  tax  of  one  bezant  each  to  the  seigneur — was  near  the  Robbers'  Spring,  and  we 
can  have  no  hesitation  in  recognising  the  name  of  Casale  Saint  Gilles  in  the  modern  Sinjil, 
a  place  which,  with  Turmus  'Ayya  (the  Thormasia  of  the  Talmud),  became  church  property 
at  a  later  period. 

The  region  between  Bethel  and  Shechem,  belonging  to  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  is  yet 
more  rugged  than  that  round  Jerusalem  ;  the  valleys  are  deeper,  the  mountains  steeper  and 
more  rocky,  and  the  character  of  the  watershed  different — broad,  open  vales  and  small 
plateaux,  like  that  of  Turmus  'Ayya,  existing  close  to  the  central  ridge.  The  country  near 
Jufna  is  also  remarkable  for  the  extent  of  its  cultivation,  it  being  generally  observable  in 
Palestine  that  the  Christian  villages  flourish  better  than  those  of  the  Moslems,  partly  because 
the  Christians  can  claim  protection  from  foreign  powers,  which  the  Moslems  do  not  enjoy, 
being  left,  without  any  protector,  to  the  tyranny  of  the  Turks.  But  another  reason  for  the 
greater  prosperity  of  Christian  districts  is  no  doubt  to  be  found  in  the  helpless  fatalism  and 
indolent  resignation  of  the  Moslems,  contrasted  with  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  the 
villagers  educated  by  the  Greek  and  Latin  priests. 

On  the  stony  ascent  near  Sinjil,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  road,  the  traces  of  the  ancient 
Roman  pavement  are  visible.  A  fence  of  stone  was  made  along  the  sides  of  the  highway 
and  huge  polygonal  blocks  of  stone  were  carefully  fitted  together  to  form  the  roadway, 
as  in  the  streets  of  Pompeii.  From  the  narrow  saddle  which  is  now  reached  the  first  view 
of  Gerizim  is  obtained,  a  long  ridge  rising  to  a  blunt  summit,  with  a  steep  eastern  shoulder, 
not  unlike  that  of  Helvellyn  seen  from  near  Dunmail  Raise.  At  its  feet  is  the  brown 
plain  of  the  Mukhnah,  and  Hermon  closes  the  view  in  the  extreme  distance;  while  in  the 
foreground,  at  the  foot  of  the  steep  stony  winding  descent,  is  the  ruined  inn  and  the 
beautiful  spring  of  Khan  Lubban. 

The  mountains  of  Ephraim — long  spurs  covered  on  the  west  with  thickets  of  mastic 
and  dwarf  pine — are  drained  by  two  main  watercourses,  valleys  so  steep  as  to  be  almost 
impassable  by  horsemen,  and  each  indicating  an  ancient  political  boundary.  The  most 
southern  of  these — one  of  the  longest  valleys  in  the  country — is  formed  by  the  junction 
of  Wady  Lubban  with  a  more  northern  afHuent  which  rises  north  of  Sawieh,  a  place  hereafter 
to  be  described.  The  great  valley  runs  down  beneath  the  cliff  on  which  the  Byzantine 
monastery  called  Deir-el-Kul'ah,  "convent  castle,"  is  perched  (see  page  226),  and  passes 
through  the  low  chalky  hills  to  Ras-el-'Ain,  the  ancient  Antipatris,  the  Crusaders'  Mirabel. 
The  northern  valley,  rising  at  the  foot  of  Gerizim,  and  flowing  south-west,  is  scarcely  less 
formidable.     The  southern  watercourse  formed  the  ancient  boundary  between  Judaea  and 


SHILOH. 


229 


Samaria  ;  the  northern  (Wady  Kanah)  is  probably  the  brook  Kanah,  which  divided  the  lot 
of  Ephraim  from  that  of  Manasseh.  Both  valleys  form  a  junction  near  Ras-el-'Ain,  and  the 
great  pools  beside  that  ruin  are  those  fed  by  the  rainfall  from  an  area  of  four  hundred  square 
miles  of  mountain  country. 

But  on  reaching  the  plateau  near  Sinjil  the  traveller  will  probably  make  a  detour  to  the 
east,  in  order  to  visit  the  secluded  ruin  of  Seilun,  the  Shiloh  of  the  Old  Testament. 

An  ancient  causeway  leads  up  the  slope  of  a  chalky  hill  from  the  open  plain  of  Turmus 
'Ayya.  Gaining  the  saddle,  the  traveller  sees  in  front  of  him  a  grey  ruin  of  tumbledown 
stone  huts  clustering  round  the  side  of  a  kind  of  knoll.  In  the  low  ground  near  the  approach 
is  a  flat-roofed  building  shaded  by  a  large  oak  ;  this  is  called  Jami'a-el-Yetaim,  "  Mosque  of 
the  Worshippers."  On  the  right,  higher  up,  is  another  square  structure,  roofless  and  half 
ruinous,  with  some  smaller  trees.  This  is  called  Jami'a-el-Arb'ain,  "  Mosque  of  the  Forty  " 
(Companions  of  the  Prophet).  A  little  tank  with  steps  is  seen  close  to  the  first-mentioned 
building.  The  view  is  restricted  on  either  side  by  hills,  and  north  of  .the  ruins  rises  a  long 
barren  ridge  of  grey  limestone,  with  a  few  scattered  fig-trees.  Immediately  behind  the  knoll 
of  the  ruined  village  is  a  deep  valley.  Several  tombs  are  cut  in  the  rock  on  either  side  of 
the  town,  and  a  fine  spring,  with  some  rock-cut  sepulchres,  exists  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  to  the  east,  near  the  valley  head.  The  site,  remote  from  the  main  road,  and  hidden 
in  the  bosom  of  the  hills,  is  so  secluded  that  it  might  easily  escape  the  notice  even  of  a 
careful  explorer ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  for  so  many  centuries  it  remained  altogether 
unknown,  though  still  preserving  its  ancient  name  among  the  villagers  who,  until  quite  of  late 
years,  inhabited  the  place. 

The  "  Mosque  of  the  Forty,"  which  is  reached  before  arriving  at  the  ruined  village, 
is  a  building  of  puzzling  character.  It  has  been  constructed  at  different  periods,  and  used 
for  different  purposes.  The  mosque  itself  is  a  small  chamber  of  inferior  masonry,  built 
against  the  eastern  wall  of  the  ancient  structure,  with  a  small  mihrab,  or  prayer  recess, 
towards  the  south.  The  main  building  is  a  square  of  thirty-seven  feet  side,  with  solid  walls 
of  good  masonry,  the  door  being  to  the  north.  The  doorway  is  spanned  by  a  flat  lintel, 
having  on  it  a  representation,  in  low  relief,  of  a  vase  flanked  by  two  wreaths  ;  and  the  design 
resembling  those  on  the  Galilean  synagogues,  and  almost  identical  with  that  over  an  ancient 
rock-cut  tomb  some  few  miles  off  at  Beita,  is  of  the  character  which  belongs  to  the  Jewish 
art  of  the  later  period,  from  Herod  to  Hadrian  ;  and  though  possibly  not  in  situ,  we  can 
have  little  hesitation  in  identifying  the  lintel  as  of  Jewish  origin  (see  page  226).  The  remains 
of  four  pillars,  which  seem  to  have  supported  the  roof,  are  visible  among  the  thorns  and 
weeds  inside  the  monument ;  and  a  sloping  scarp — apparently  a  later  addition — is  built  against 
the  wall  on  the  outside. 

Isaac  Chelo,  of  Aragon,  almost  the  only  traveller,  Jewish  or  Christian,  who  mentions 
Seilun,  seems  very  possibly  to  refer  to  this  building.  He  speaks  of  "  a  very  remarkable 
sepulchral  monument  where  the  Jews  and  Moslems  keep  lamps  perpetually  burning,"  and 


230 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


calls  it  the  Tomb  of  Eli  and  his  sons,  Hophni  and  Phinehas.  The  building  just  described 
cannot  apparently  have  been  a  church,  the  square  form  being  unusual  for  such  a  structure 
and  the  walls  being  so  perfect  as  to  show  that  it  never  had  either  an  apse — which  is  almost 
invariably  found  in  Syrian  churches — or  a  western  door,  which  is  equally  essential.  The 
form  would  be  suitable  for  a  masonry  sepulchre,  several  of  which  are  known  in  Palestine  : 
and  if  the  building  be  of  Jewish  origin,  the  lintel  may  perhaps  be  in  situ. 

There  is  nothing  further  of  note  in  the  ruins  of  Shiloh,  excepting,  perhaps,  the  sort  of 


JACOB'S  WELL,  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  MOUNT  GERIZIM. 
The  true  mouth  of  the  well  is  in  the  floor  of  a  little  vaulted  chamber  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

sunk  court,  four  hundred  feet  long  and  seventy-five  feet  wide,  which  exists  on  the  side  of  the 
knoll,  north  of  the  houses,  and  which  is  thought  possibly  to  have  been  the  place  where 
the  Tabernacle  stood.  In  the  Mishnah  the  foundation  of  the  holy  house,  when  erected 
at  Shiloh,  is  said  to  have  been  of  stone  ;  but  this  has  of  course  long  since  disappeared. 

The  history  of  Shiloh  commences  with  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  Joshua,  and  with 
the  establishment  of  the  Ark  in  this  remote  town,  which  lay  within  the  territory  of  the  sons 
of  Joseph,  to  whom  Joshua  belonged  by  descent.    The  sacred  tent  and  the  Ark  remained 


SHILOH. 


231 


for  four  centuries  fixed  at  Shiloh,  and  only  after  the  death  of  Eli  and  the  loss  of  the  Ark 
was  the  Tabernacle  removed  to  Nob.  From  that  time  Shiloh  seems  to  have  been  completely 
forgotten,  and  appears  no  more  in  history.  Yet  even  during  the  period  of  its  fame  its 
position  seems  to  have  been  thought  to  require  special  description,  and  there  is  no  topogra- 
phical passage  in  the  Bible  which  so  clearly  and  distinctly  indicates  the  position  of  a  town 


JOSEPH'S  TOMI 

From  the  north,  showing  the  rumed  kubbeh  which  adjoins  it.    The  cenotaph  and  one  of 
the  pillars  appear  within  the  doorway. 

as  that  which  defines  the  situation  of  Shiloh.  "  Behold," 
we  read,  "  there  is  a  feast  of  the  Lord  in  Shiloh  yearly, 
in  a  place  which  is  on  the  north  side  of  Bethel,  on  the 
east  of  the  highway  that  goeth  up  from  Bethel  to  Shechem, 
and  on  the  south  of  Lebonah." 

In  the  time  of  Phinehas — according  to  the  chronology 
of  Josephus — Shiloh  became  the  scene  of  an  adventure  )' 
which  recalls  the  rape  of  the  Sabines,  namely,  the  forcible 
provision  of  wives  for  the  surviving  Benjamites.  Among 
the  thick  leaves  of  the  low  vine-bushes  the  men  of 
Benjamin  lay  hid,  as  the  Israelite  damsels,  robed  in  their 

holiday  attire,  marched  out  to  the  sound  of  the  timbrel,  clapping  their  hands  and  dancing, 
as  the  bands  of  women  may  still  be  seen  to  dance  on  festive  occasions  among  these  wild 
mountains.  "  And  the  children  of  Benjamin  took  them  wives  according  to  the  number  of 
them  that  danced  whom  they  caught."    Possibly  the  name  "  Meadow  of  the  Feast,"  which 


232 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


applies  to  part  of  the  plain  south  of  Shiloh,  may  preserve  the  memory  of  the  yearly  feast  at 
this  place;  but  the  vineyards  have  disappeared  from  the  hillsides,  though  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  the  neighbourhood  is  still  fitted  for  the  growth  of  the  vine. 

Shiloh  was  known  to  that  indefatigable  explorer,  St.  Jerome,  who  places  it  ten  Roman 
miles  from  Shechem,  in  the  province  of  Acrabattene,  clearly  intending  the  present  site  of 
Seilun  ;  and  in  describing  the  pilgrimage  of  his  friend,  Sta.  Paula,  he  says,  "  What  shall  I 
tell  of  Shiloh,  in  which  the  altar  is  still  shown  overthrown,  and  where  the  tribe  of  Benjamin 
anticipated  the  Sabine  rape  by  Romulus  ?"  But,  with  the  exception  of  this  great  writer,  no 
traveller  speaks  of  this  remote  village  except  Isaac  Chelo  in  1334  a.d,,  as  already  quoted  ; 
while  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  down  to  the  fifteenth,  we  find  the  hill  of  Neby  Samwil 
regarded  as  the  site  of  Shiloh,  contrary  to  the  most  definite  language  of  Scripture,  It  was 
left  to  Dr.  Robinson  to  recover  the  long-lost  site  answering  so  exactly  to  the  account  in  the 
Book  of  Judges  of  the  position  of  Shiloh. 

Passing  down  the  valley  westward,  we  rejoin  the  main  road  beneath  Khan  Lubban, 
and  so  follow  the  course  of  a  flat  vale  beneath  the  ancient  village  Lubban,  or  Lebonah,  the 
Beth  Laban  of  the  Talmud,  and  the  Lepna  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Beth  Laban,  it  may 
be  remarked,  was  a  place  the  wine  of  which  was  used  in  the  Temple  services,  but  it  was  so 
close  to  the  Samaritan  border  that  a  doubt  arose  as  to  its  being  sufficiently  pure  for  the 
purpose,  Beth  Rima  (now  Beit  Rima)  was  another  place  in  the  same  category ;  Keruthim 
(Keriut)  was  a  third;  and  these  three  names  thus  form  valuable  indications  of  the  border 
between  Samaria  and  Judaea. 

From  the  farther  end  of  the  open  valley  of  Lebonah  we  ascend  a  slope,  on  which 
stands  the  ruin  of  Khan-es-Sawieh,  named  from  a  neighbouring  village.  A  good  spring 
with  a  spreading  oak-tree  near  the  khan  form  a  resting-place,  and  the  site  has  an  interest  not 
generally  recognised. 

Pere  Lievin,  the  able  author  of  the  Catholic  guide-book  for  pilgrims,  seems  to  have  been 
the  first  to  discover  that  Khan  Sawieh  stands  close  to  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  village  called 
Berkit,  a  discovery  which  has  since  been  verified  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Now  Josephus  tells 
us  that  Anuath,  or  Borceos,  was  the  boundary  town  between  Samaria  and  Judaea  ;  and  the 
distance  noticed  in  the  Onomasticon  (or  Topographical  Dictionary  of  Eusebius  and  Jerome) 
between  Anuath  and  Nablus  brings  us  on  the  map  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Khan  Sawieh. 
East  of  the  road,  at  some  little  distance,  is  a  ruin  called  'Aina,  and  this  with  Berkit  represent 
probably  Anuath  and  Borceos,  thus  fixing  the  boundary  at  this  point.  When,  in  addition, 
we  remember  the  sites  of  Keruthim,  Beth  Laban,  and  Beth  Rima,  already  noticed,  and  know 
that  Antipatris  was  also  a  border  town,  we  are  able  to  identify  the  boundary  between  Judsea 
and  Samaria  with  the  great  valley  already  noticed,  generally  called  Wady  Deir  Ballut. 
Acrabbi,  again,  is  noticed  by  Josephus  as  on  this  border,  and  is  represented  by  the  modern 
village  'Akrabeh,  immediately  east  of  which  the  valley  first  sinks  from  the  watershed.  At 
Khan  Sawieh,  therefore,  we  stand  at  the  boundary  of  Judaea,  and  as  we  pass  the  stony  valley 


31 


234 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


immediately  north  of  it,  we  cross  into  the  region  of  Samaria  and  become  concerned  with 
Samaritan  traditions  and  topography. 

The  fine  oak-tree  near  the  spring  of  Khan  Sawieh  is  one  of  the  few  large  trees  of 
Southern  Palestine,  the  number  of  which  can  almost  be  counted  on  the  fingers.  Three  species 
of  oak  exist  in  Syria,  of  which  the  evergreen  oak  attains  the  largest  size,  and  is  called  balliit 
in  Arabic.  The  second  species,  called  sindidn  and  afs,  forms  a  brushwood  of  prickly  shrubs 
eight  to  twelve  feet  in  height ;  and  the  third,  the  gall  oak,  grows  as  a  small  tree  twenty  feet 
high,  called  generally  nialliil,  but  sometimes  sindidn.  The  large  single  oaks,  like  Abraham's 
oak  at  Hebron,  are  rare,  but  the  gall  oak  is  very  common  in  parts  of  Galilee,  growing  in 
thick  woods  and  open  glades  west  of  Nazareth,  on  Tabor,  near  the  sources  of  Jordan,  and  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  plain  of  Sharon.  The  second  species  flourishes  in  the  copses  which 
cover  the  hard  limestone  of  the  spurs  west  of  the  watershed,  but  never  occurs  in  the  soft 
chalky  districts,  which  are  bare  of  brushwood. 

From  the  oak  tree  of  Khan  Sawieh  we  now  march  outward  into  Samaria,  and  gain 
the  crest  of  a  ridge  whence  Gerizim  and  the  Mukhnah  plain  are  distinctly  visible.  We  enter 
upon  a  region  of  sacred  tombs,  and  find  the  old  heroes  of  the  Hebrew  invasion  lying  buried 
round  the  Mount  of  Blessing.  Were  these  sites  only  venerated  by  the  Samaritans,  we  might 
feel  doubtful  of  their  authentic  character,  but  Jew  and  Christian  agree  in  pointing  to  the 
same  sites  for  the  tombs  of  Joshua,  Caleb,  and  Nun,  Phinehas,  Eleazar,  and  Ithamar,  and  that 
of  Joseph  rather  farther  north.  The  modern  Samaritans  identify  Timnath  Heres,  where 
Joshua  was  buried,  with  the  village  Kefr  Haris,  on  the  hills  south  of  Gerizim,  where  are  three 
square  domed  buildings,  sacred  respectively  to  Neby  Lush'a,  Neby  Nun,  and  Neby  Kifl  (an 
historic  character  of  the  age  of  the  Prophet).  In  the  fourth  century  St.  Jerome  apparently 
speaks  of  this  same  place  in  describing  the  route  of  Sta.  Paula,  in  connection  with  the  other 
sacred  tombs  .lying  in  this  district,  and  as  being  still  venerated.  "  Much  she  wondered,"  he 
writes,  "  that  the  divider  of  the  possessions  should  have  chosen  for  himself  a  lot  so  rugged 
and  mountainous."  A  remark  which  applies  well  to  the  rough  mountains  round  Kefr  Haris. 
In  the  fourteenth  century  Marino  Sanuto  makes  Kefr  Haris  and  the  tomb  of  Joshua  in  correct 
position  on  his  map,  but  the  Jewish  descriptions  of  the  place  are  still  more  important.  Rabbi 
Jacob,  of  Paris,  in  1258,  notices  the  three  tombs  of  Joshua,  Caleb,  and  Nun  at  Kefr  Haris. 
Estori  Parchi  gives  the  distance  from  Shechem  as  two  leagues.  Rabbi  Gerson,  of  Scarmela, 
in  1 56 1,  speaks  of  the  monuments  over  the  tombs,  and  of  the  caruba  and  pomegranate  trees 
growing  beside  them.  And  finally,  in  1564,  Rabbi  Uri,  of  Biel,  gives  a  sketch  showing  three 
domed  buildings  with  two  trees,  and  liQ^hts  burninor  inside  the  domes.  As  regrards  these 
sepulchres,  we  have  thus  an  accord  between  four  distinct  lines  of  tradition,  and  the  existence 
of  the  name  of  Mount  Heres  in  the  modern  form  of  Haris. 

The  plain  called  El  Mukhnah,  which  we  now  approach,  is  a  plateau  larger  than  any 
previously  crossed,  though  smaller  than  the  watershed  plains  north  of  Shechem  (see  page  237). 
It  measures  about  nine  miles  north  and  south,  by  four  miles  east  and  west,  and  consists  of 


BALATA. 


235 


corn-land,  with  small  olive  groves  covering  the  low  rocky  swells  which  rise  from  the  plain 
and  form  sites  for  the  villages.  The  present  name  Mukhnah  is  taken  from  the  ruin  of  the  old 
Samaritan  town  so  called  on  the  slope  of  Gerizim,  and  means  "  the  camp,"  The  Samaritans 
call  it  Merj-el-Baha,  "the  Flat  Meadow,"  and  identify  it  with  the  plain  of  Moreh,  mentioned 
in  the  Bible  as  near  Shechem.  In  the  middle  of  the  plain  stands  the  village  of 'Awertah,  on 
rising  ground  among  the  olives,  and  well  supplied  with  water.  Here  in  the  village  itself  is  the 
ancient  monument  called  by  the  Samaritans  the  tomb  of  Phinehas ;  and  on  the  west,  shaded  by 
a  magnificent  terebinth  growing  in  the  paved  courtyard,  is  the  domed  tomb-house  of  Eleazar, 
with  a  Samaritan  inscription  of  the  last  century.  Ithamar  is  also  said  to  be  buried  with  Abishua 
not  far  off.  The  village  mosque  is,  however,  consecrated  to  a  Moslem  sheikh.  There  seems 
little  doubt  that  'Aw^ertah  represents  Gibeah  Phinehas  in  Mount  Ephraim,  where  Eleazar,  the 
son  of  Aaron,  and  his  family  were  buried.  The  Samaritans  called  the  place  Kefr  Awerah 
and  Abeartha,  and  the  mediaeval  Jewish  travellers  all  notice  the  tombs  of  Eleazar,  Phinehas, 
and  Ithamar,  the  latter  as  lying  among  the  olives  below  the  village.  Rabbi  Gerson  also 
describes  a  vaulted  chamber,  as  yet  unknown  to  modern  travellers,  where  the  seventy  elders 
were  entombed.  Following  the  path  worn  in  the  white  chalk  along  the  feet  of  Gerizim,  we 
pass  by  the  spring  of  Sarina,  to  which  a  Samaritan  legend  similar  to  the  story  of  Susanna 
attaches,  and  descend  to  the  Vale  of  Shechem,  west  of  the  little  village  of  Balata,  with  its  fig 
garden  and  clear  spring. 

Balata  is  one  of  the  cities  the  importance  of  which  is  little  recognised.  Jerome  identifies 
it  with  the  oak  of  Shechem,  which  was  by  the  Holy  Place  of  Jehovah  ;  and  the  Samaritans 
give  to  the  spot  the  names  Ailon-Tubah  and  Shejr  el  Kheir,  "  Holy  Oak,"  or  "  Tree  of  Grace." 
This  sacred  tree  appears  more  than  once  in  the  Old  Testament  history ;  first,  perhaps,  as  the 
oak  of  Moreh  beside  the  makom,  or  "  place,"  of  Shechem,  where  Abraham  built  his  first 
altar  ;  and  again  as  the  oak  where  Jacob  hid  the  teraphim  ;  apparently  the  same  tree  which 
was  by  the  Sanctuary  of  the  Lord,  or  altar  El-Elohe-Israel,  erected  by  Jacob  on  the  parcel 
of  ground  which  he  bought  from  the  children  of  Hamor.  By  this  oak  Joshua  erected  a 
great  stone,  which  is  noticed  later  as  "the  monument"  by  the  oak  of  Shechem;  and  the  Oak 
of  the  Meonenim,  or  soothsayers,  near  Shechem,  is  not  improbably  the  same  place.  The 
tradition  which  fixes  the  site  of  this  sanctuary  farther  west,  at  the  little  "  Mosque  of  the 
Pillar,"  appears  to  be  more  modern,  and,  with  several  other  sites  round  Shechem  and  on  Ebal, 
seems  to  belong  to  the  Crusading  topography  which  connected  Ebal  and  Gerizim  with  the 
Dan  and  Bethel  of  Jeroboam's  calf-worship. 

This  ancient  sanctuary,  the  site  of  the  first  oak-tree  beneath  which  the  father  of  the 
Hebrews  spread  his  tent  in  the  promised  land,  and  of  the  first  "place,"  or  makom,  where  he 
erected  an  altar,  is  naturally  to  be  sought  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  well  dug  by  his 
grandson  Jacob ;  and  the  undisputed  site  of  that  well  is  to  be  found  immediately  east  of  Balata. 
Not  only  is  the  Bir  Y'akub  the  only  well  anywhere  in  the  neighbourhood,  but  its  existence 
so  close  to  beautiful  springs  of  water  gushing  out  at  the  feet  of  Gerizim  could  scarcely  be 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


accounted  for  were  it  not  for  the  jealousy  with  which — as  we  learn  from  the  Book  of  Genesis — 
the  old  Canaanites  preserved  their  rights  to  the  springs.  For  his  own  use,  on  his  own  land, 
the  patriarch  dug  the  well,  leaving  the  fountains  in  possession  of  the  native  inhabitants. 
As  we  approach  the  spot  we  see  a  dusty  patch  of  ground  within  a  brokendown  stone  wall. 
Scattered  stones  and  mounds  of  rubbish  cover  the  plot,  and  the  shafts  of  three  granite 
columns  stand  up  in  the  middle,  their  bases  buried  underground.  At  length  we  find  a  hole, 
in  the  roof  of  a  little  modern  vault  about  twenty  feet  long  east  and  west,  with  a  pointed  arch. 
The  floor  is  piled  with  the  dehi-is  of  the  roof,  and  the  well-mouth  is  choked,  but  the  well  itself, 
seventy-five  feet  deep,  and  seven  feet  six  inches  in  diameter,  is  quite  clear  (see  page  230). 

The  ruins  which  surround  the  well  are  those  of  an  ancient  church.  In  another  small 
vault  to  the  north-west,  now  closed,  the  tesselated  pavement  may  still  be  seen,  and  the 
bases  of  the  pillars  already  noticed.  In  383  a.d.  Sta.  Paula  visited  the  church  ;  in  700  a.d. 
Arculphus  gives  a  rude  plan  of  it  as  cruciform.  It  was  standing  in  the  eighth  century,  and 
was  rebuilt  in  the  twelfth;  for  Theodorus,  in  1172,  speaks  of  the  well  as  enclosed  in  the 
church — just  as  Sta.  Paula  found  it — before  the  high  altar.  Even  as  late  as  1550  an  altar 
stood  in  the  vault,  and  the  site  still  belongs  to  the  Greek  church.  Looking  northward  from 
the  well,  we  see  the  dome  of  the  little  mosque  by  Joseph's  Tomb— a  site  mentioned  from  the 
earliest  time  by  travellers,  Jewish,  Samaritan,  or  Christian,  and  venerated  by  all  sects  alike — 
the  companion  of  Jacob's  Well,  and  probably  as  genuine  a  site,  being  authorised  by  that  rare 
consent  of  various  traditions  which  is  found  especially  in  respect  to  places  near  Shechem. 
The  torhb  stands  in  a  little  courtyard  adjoining  the  ruined  kubbeh,  and  is  surrounded  by 
plastered  walls,  renewed — as  an  inscription  in  English,  on  the  south  wall,  tells  us — by  Consul 
Rogers,  the  friend  of  the  Samaritans,  in  1868.  At  either  end  of  the  rude  cenotaph  is  a  pillar 
on  which  lamps  may  be  placed ;  and  the  monument  must  be  older  than,  from  its  rude  construc- 
tion, would  be  supposed,  for  in  1564  Rabbi  Vri,  of  Biel,  gives  a  sketch  of  Joseph's  Tomb  which 
would  correctly  represent  the  present  structure  with  its  pillars.  Jew,  Samaritan,  Moslem, 
and  Christian  venerate  the  site  alike,  although  Josephus  says  that  the  bones  of  Joseph  were 
carried  to  Hebron,  and  Saewulf  notices,  in  iioo  a.d.,  the  same  supposed  tomb,  which  is  still 
shown  attached  to  the  outer  wall  of  the  Hebron  haram  (see  page  231). 

On  the  side  of  Ebal,  above  Joseph's  Tomb,  is  the  rude  hamlet  of  'Askar,  with  its  rock-cut 
channel  leading  to  the  spring  and  its  ancient  sepulchres.  The  old  Samaritan  name  for  the 
place  is  Ischar,  almost  identical  in  sound  with  the  Sychar  which  is  mentioned  in  our  version 
of  the  fourth  Gospel.  Jerome  and  other  authorities,  indeed,  support  the  reading  which 
substitutes  Shechem  for  Sychar,  and  Dr.  Robinson  has  proposed  the  theory  that  Sychar  means 
"  drunken,"  and  was  a  Jewish  nickname  for  the  Samaritan  capital.  The  spelling'  of  the  old 
Samaritan  name  shows,  however,  that  the  derivation  was  from  another  root,  meaning  "  to 
surround ;"  and  Shechem  is  too  far  from  Jacob's  Well  to  fit  the  narrative  of  Christ's 
conversation  with  the  Samaritan  woman.  Nor  is  the  expression,  "  Sychar,  a  city  of  Samaria," 
likely  to  have  been  used  by  a  Jewish  author  with  reference  to  the  famous  Shechem  which 


JACOB'S  WELL. 


237 


is  mentioned  by  name  in  the  Book  of  Acts.  Sychar  was  well  known  to  the  early  pilgrims  as 
being  near  Jacob's  Well,  and  about  a  mile  from  Shechem  ;  but  the  Crusaders  confused  the  two 
sites,  much  as  modern  authors  have  done  when  unaware  of  the  existence  of  '  A.skar. 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  sIlIM. 

Opposite  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  Vale  of  Shechem,  which  is  seen  beyond  the  broad  plain  of  Mukhnah.    It  probably  represents  the  Salem 

near  to  which  John  baptized  his  disciples. 


Here,  then,  at  the  mouth  of  Jacob's  Well,  we  stand  on  one  of  the  few  spots  where  we  can 
feel  any  certainty  that  the  feet  of  Christ  must  actually  have  trod.  We  look  round  on  the  same 
scene  which  greeted  his  eyes  :  we  behold  the  same  monuments  venerated  in  his  days.  The 


PICTURESQUE  PALESTINE. 


grey  olive  groves  hide  Shechem  from  our  sight ;  the  rough  rocky  side  of  Gerizim  rises  to  the 
ruins  of  that  temple  where  the  Samaritan  still  worships  (see  page  233).  The  tawny  slopes 
and  precipices  of  Ebal,  the  mountain  of  the  curse,  where,  according  to  the  quaint  legends  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  Cain  raised  his  altar  and  Jeroboam  set  up  his  golden  calf,  appear  to  the 
north.     On  the  white  chalk  stands  the  humble  hamlet  of  Sychar,  beneath  it  the  rude  but 


TOMB  OF  PHINEHAS. 
On  the  eastern  side  of  the  village  of  'Awertah,  the  ancient  Gibeah  Phinehas. 

ancient  Tomb  of  Joseph ;  while  to  the  east  the  eye  ranges  to  Salim  near  ^^non  (see  page  237) 
and  to  the  wooded  hill  of  Phinehas,  where  the  great  priests  of  the  time  of  the  conquest 
sleep  in  hallowed  shrines.  Long  may  the  venerable  well  repose  in  its  ruins,  set  in  scenery  as 
venerable  in  its  associations,  unspoiled  by  the  jarring  inconsistency  of  Prankish  restorations, 
and  hallowed  by  the  memory  of  the  Master  v/ho  rested  once  upon  its  brink ! 


INDEX  TO  DIVISION  I. 


Abishua,  Tomb  of,  235. 
Abraham's  Altar,  Shechem,  235, 
240. 

Absalom's  Pillar,  83,  98. 

Abu  Ghosh  (Kuryetel 'Anab),  199, 

200,  201. 
Abyssinians,  119,  176. 
Aceldama,  98,  110. 
Achor,  177,  180. 
Acrabi  ('Akrabeh),  232. 
Acts  xxi,  26,  43. 
'Adasa,  218. 
Adiabene,  213. 

Adullam,  Cave   of,  142,  143,  145 

—147,  204. 
Ai,  160,  179,  1S2,  185,  187,  212, 

222. 

'Am  Duk,  171,  176,  181,  1S4. 
'Ain  Hajla,  162. 

'Ain     el     Haramlyeh  (Robbero' 

Spring),  225,  227. 
'Ain  Karim,  202 — 208. 

Church  and  Monastery  of  £t. 

John,  205,  209. 
'Ain  Sinia  (Jeshanah),  223,  224. 
'Ain  es  Sultan,  Elisha's  Fountain, 

160,  170 — 172,  176. 
Ajalon(Yalo)  184,  195,  197. 
Aksa,  El,  Mosque,  6,  65 — 72,  75. 

Fagade  of,  61. 
Alexander  the  Great,  214. 
'Alnut  (Alemeth),  212. 
'Amwas,  197,  198. 
Anastasis,  14,  64,  74. 
Anathoth  ('Anata),  200,210,  211. 
Anchorites,  130,  146 — 153,  176. 
Anne,  Church  of  St.,  46. 
Antipatris    (Ras    el    'Ain),  228, 

232. 

Antonia,  39,  38,  42,  43. 
Anuath  ('Aina),  232. 
Apostles'  Cave,  98,  114. 
Aqueduct  from  Ain  Duk,  176. 

Of  the  Unbelievers,  u6. 
Aqueducts  from  Solomon's  Pools, 
42,  48,  68,  102,  106,  112 — 114, 
122,  138 — 141. 

OverWady  Kelt,  169,  174. 
Archulphus,  Bishop,  14,  196. 
'Armah,  203. 

Armenian  Church  of  St.  James, 
12,  119. 
Monastery,  5,  6,  12,  102,  119. 
Arnon,  4,  154. 
Artas.    See  Urtas. 
Ascension,  Church  of  the,  3,  4,  88, 
90. 

Ashkenazi  Jews,  26,  82,  118. 
'Asker  (Sychar),  236. 
Asneri,  213. 

'Awertah  (Gibeah  Phinehas),  235. 


B.\AL  Hazor,  212. 

Bab  el  Amud  (Damascus  Gate), 

31,  40,  41,  212. 
Bab  Wady  'Aly,  194,  200. 
Bahurim,  212. 
Balata,  235. 

Barclay's  Gate,  39,  75,  80. 
Barracks,  Turkish,  5,  6,  28,  29,  30, 
42,  44. 

Basilica  of  Martyrion,  14. 
Battles  of  the  Passes,  194. 
Bazaars  of  Jerusalem,  31 — 37. 
Beautiful  Gate,  42,  70,  77. 
Beeroth  (El  Bi'reh),  189,  215 — 27:9. 
Beitin.    See  Bethel. 
Beit  Jala;  126,  196. 
Beit  Nuba,  197. 

Beit 'Ur  el  Foka  (Upper  Bethho- 

ron),  191,  197. 
Beit  'Ur  et  Tahta  ( Lower  Bethho- 

ron),  193,  197. 
Benjamm,  hill  country  of,  181, 

188,  192. 


Bethany,  El  'Aziryeh,  89,  90. 
From  Jerusalem  to,  84—88. 
To  Jerusalem  from,  90 — 94. 
Bethel  (Beitin),  160,  187,  196,  212. 
217,  219-221. 
Ruins  of  church  at,  219. 
Bethesda  \  Birket  Israil),  4,  45,  46, 

52,  66,  109 — 112. 
Beth  Hogla  (Kasr  Hajla),  157,  159, 

162,  163. 
Bethhoron,  184,  190—197,  208. 
Beth  Laban,  232. 

Bethlehem  (Beit  Lahm),  123 — 138, 
196. 

Bethphage,  88,  89,  92. 

Ruins  of  Church,  89. 
Bethso,  81. 
Bezetha,  7. 

Bir  Eyub  (Job's  Well),  2,  94,  loi, 

104,  II  ^,  117,  120. 
Bir  ez  Zeit,  223,  224. 
Birket  Isiail.    See  Bethesda. 
Birket  Mamilla,  102,  loS,  122,  139. 
Birket  Sitti  Miriam,  loS,  109. 
Birket  es  Sultan,  102,  106,  loS, 

113- 

Bishop  Alexander,  11,  120. 

Barclay,  120. 

Gobat,  II,  120. 
Boaz,  field  of,  132,  133. 
Borceos  (Berkit),  232. 
Border  towns  of  Samaria,  232. 
Bozez,  184. 
Burak,  El,  39. 

Burak,  El  (Solomon's  Pools),  138 

—141. 
Castle  of,  141. 
Burj  Bardawil  (Baldwin's  Tower), 

227. 

Buying  and  selhng,  Jerusalem,  32, 
37- 


C.^:SAREA  Philippi,  155. 
Cafe,  A  Jerusalem,  33,  36. 
Caiaphas,  house  of,  12. 
Caliphs,  Fatimite,  15. 
Callirrhoe,  144,  154,  155. 
Calvary,  23. 

Cave  Adullam.    See  Adullam. 
Cave  of  the  Cross,  19,  21,  23. 

Dreamers,  146. 

Sakhra,  60 — 62. 
Caverns  of  the  Kings,  84. 
Caves  in  the  cliffs  of  Kedron,  155. 

Valley  of  Hinnom,  114. 
Cells  and  chapels,  Quarantania, 
176. 

Cemeteries,  Jewish,  82,  85,  95 — 
100. 

Moslem,  4,  46,  67,  69,  89,  95, 
102. 

Cemetery,  Protestant,  94,  95. 
Chapel  of  Helena,  Holy  Sepulchre, 

15,  19,  22,  23. 
Cherith,    Brook.     See    Wady  el 

Kelt. 

Chosroes,  148,  150,  170,  174. 
Christ  Church,  Jerusalem,  11,  102. 
Christian  Villages,  224,  225,  228. 
Church  of  the  Ascension,  3,  4, 
88,  90. 

Holy  Sepulchre,  14—28. 

Nativity,  Bethlehem,  124 — 130. 
"  Ciccar,"  157,  160,  161. 
Cisterns,   Jerusalem,  72,  73,  74, 

loi,  106 — 109. 
Cistern  of  Kasr  el  Yehud,  170. 
Citadel  of  Jerusalem,  6,  7 — 11, 105. 

Entrance  to,  3. 
"Cities  of  the  Plain,"  157,  160, 

i6t,  176. 
Cloisters  of  the  Temple,  76,  81. 
Coenaculum,  12. 

Convent  of   St.    George,  Wady 
Kelt,  175. 


Coptic  Monastery,  17. 
Copts,  119,  176. 

Costume  of  Women  of  Bethlehem, 
33,  I33--I3S- 
Siloam,  32. 
Cotton-cleaning,  3^  44. 
Cotton  grotto.  84. 
Crusaders,  15,  42,  58,  62,  68,  128, 
135,  170. 

Crusaders'  churches  and  fortresses, 
18,  135,  179,  187,  195,  201, 
215,225,  226. 

Crusading  topography,  206,  235. 


Damascus  Gate,  Jerusalem,  6, 
31,  41,  212. 
Street  of  the,  40,  71. 
David  Street,  9,  34. 
David's  Tomb  (Neby  Daud),  11, 
12,  100. 
Tower,  7 — 11. 
Well,  134. 
Dead  Sea  (Bahr  Lut),  4,  137,  152 
--159,  161. 
Depth  of  the,  156,  157. 
Formation  of  the,  155 — 157. 
Northern  end  of  the,  154,  157, 
159- 

Deir  Diwan,  222. 

Deir  el  Kul'ah  (Convent  Castle), 
226,  228. 

Destruction  of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah, 160. 
Dome  of  the  Chain,  65. 
Dome  of   the  Rock  (Kubbet  es 
Sakhra),  6,  53 — 65,  214. 
Gates  of  the,  54. 
Interior  of  the,  54 — 64. 
Origin  of  the,  64. 
Platform  of  the,  49,  63,  65. 


Ebal  (Jebal  Sit  Eslamiyeh),  236, 

238,  239. 
Ecce  Homo  Arch,  24,  29. 
Ekron,  204. 

Elah,  Valley  of  (Wady  es  Sunt), 

142,  193.  194,  204. 
Eleasa  (11  asa),  197. 
Eleutheropolis,  204. 
Elisha's  Fountain.     See  ^Ain  es 

Sultan. 
Emmaus,  197. 
Hammath,  ig8. 
Nicopolis,  ig8,  200. 
Of  St.  Luke's  Gospel,  199,  200, 
204. 

Engedi  (Ain  Jedy),  154,  155. 
En  Rogel,  112. 

Ephraim,  Mountains  of,  184,  228. 
Ephron,  212. 
Etham,  138. 

Excavations  at  Jerusalem,  46,  47, 
50,  51- 


Fauna  of  the  Plains  of  Jericho, 
164,  165. 
Wady  Nar  (Kedron  Valley),  153, 
154- 

Field  of  Blood.    See  Aceldama. 

The  Crusaders,  99. 

The  Strong  Men,  191. 
Flora  of  the  Hills  of  Bethlehem, 
123. 

Flora  of  the  Plains  of  Jericho,  164, 

167,  171,  175. 
Foundation  stones,  Jerusalem,  46, 

47.  50,  51- 
Fountain  of  the  Cup  (El  Kas),  74, 

80. 

Fountain  of  the  Gate  of  the  Chain, 
42,  48. 

Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  102,  104, 
112. 


Frank  Mountain  (Jebel  Fureidis), 

137,  141—144- 
French  restoration  of  the  church 

of  St.  Anne,  46. 
Fresco,  the  Raising  of  Lazarus, 

£8. 

Fruit  market,  Jerusalem,  32,  37. 
Funeral  service  ( Kubbet  es  Sakhra), 
46. 


Galilee,  Sea  of,  150. 
Gardens  of  Solomon,  138. 
Gate  of  the  Chain  ( Bab  es  Silsileh ), 
6,  42,  45,  81. 
Of  the  Cotton  Merchants  (Bab 

Kattanin),  42. 
Damascus  (Bab  el  Amud),  6,  31, 

40,  41,  212. 
Of  David  (Bab  Neby  Daiid),  10, 
12. 

Double,  68,  76,  80,  81. 
Dung,  6,  81,  82. 
Golden,  2,  6,  46,  57,  69,  70. 
Of  Muhammed.    See  Barclay's 
Gate. 

Of    St.    Stephen    (Bab  Sitti 

Miriam),  6,  46,  80. 
Jaffa  (Bab  el  Khulil),  i,  6,  7,  81, 

102,  122. 
Zion  (Bab  Neby  Daud\  10,  12. 
Gates  of  the  Inner  Temple,  76, 
77- 

Gath,  142,  200,  204. 
Geba  (Jeba),  183,  184,  185,  187, 
196,  212. 

Geological  formation  of  the  bed  of 
the  Dead  Sea,  155,  157. 
Mountains  of  Judaa,  194. 
Valley  of  the  Jordan,  156. 
Georgians,  12,  119. 
Gerizim,  228,  234,  239. 
Ruins  on,  234. 
Sacred  tombs,  233. 
German  buildings  on  the  site  of 

Hospice  St.  John,  29. 
Gethsemane,  86,  88,  98. 
Ghor,    El  (Jordan  Valley),  157, 
169. 

Gibeah  of  Benjamin,  217. 
Gibeah  of  Saul,  184. 
Gibeah  Phinehas  ('Awertah),  235, 
238. 

Gibeon  (El  Jib),  182,  189,  190,  196. 

Pool  of,  191. 
Gihon,  112,  113. 

Lower  pool,  102,  108,  109,  122. 

Upper  pool,  102,  108,  122,  139. 
Gilead,  Mount,  4,  212. 
Gilgal  (Tel  Jiljul),  157,  171. 
Golden   Gate,  2,  6,  46,  57,  69, 
70. 

Golgotha,  Church  of,  15. 
Goliath's  Castle  (Kalat  Julud),  6, 
80. 

Gomorrah.    See  Sodom. 
Greek  Church,  20,  119. 
Greek  monastery,  14,  15,  17. 
Grocer's  shop,  Jerusalem,  32,  36. 
Grotto  of  St.  Anne,  46. 

Jeremiah,  84,  97. 

St.  Jerome,  129,  130,  213. 


Haiyan,  ruins  of,  222. 
HalhCil,  195. 

Haram  esh  Sherif,  6,  37—74- 
Hareth  (Kefr  Kharas),  forest  of, 
195- 

Harvest  time,  132. 

Helena,  Chapel  of  St.,  Jerusalem, 

15,  19,  22,  23. 
Helena,    Church    built    by  St., 

Bethlehem,  126. 
Hermit    life    in    Palestine,  130, 

146—153-  176- 


240 


INDEX. 


Hermits'  caves,    Kedron  Valley, 
155- 

In  Wady  Beit  Hanina,  203. 
Herod's  Palace,  7,  41. 

Temple,  39,  43,  68,  74 — 80. 
Herodium.    See  Frank  Mountain. 
Hezekiah's  Pool,  8,  12,  13,  109, 
122. 

Hill  of  Evil  Council,  73,  tig,  122. 
Hinnom,  Valley  of,  2,  98,  99,  loi, 

102,  107,  III,  113,  114,  115,  T17. 
Hippicus,  Tower  of,  7,  10,  11,  81, 

105. 

Holy  Fire,  20,  22 — 28. 
Holy  Sepulchre,  Church  of  the, 
14—28. 

Entrance  to  the  Church  of  the, 
15-18. 

Shrine  of  the,  17,  18. 

Theories  respecting  the,  14. 
Hospice  of  the  Knights  Templars, 

29-  35- 
House  of  Caiaphas,  12. 

Dives,  26,  29. 

Lazarus,  26,  29. 

Veronica,  25,  29. 
Hozmeh  (Azmaveth),  212. 


Im.\m  'Aly,  shrine  of,  200. 
Inscription  from  Herod's  Temple, 
43-  76. 

Dome  of  the  Rock,  56,  58. 
Templum  Domini,  64. 


Jacob's  Well,  230,  235 — 240. 
Jacobites,  119. 

Jaf^a  Gate,  1,  6,  7,  81,  102,  122. 
Jeba.    See  Geba. 
Jehoshaphat,  tomb  of,  82,  97. 

Valley  of,  82,  83,  97. 
Jeremiah's  Grotto,  84,  97,  213. 

Church  of,  199,  201. 
Jericho,  ancient,  170,  171. 

Herodian,  170,  174. 
Jericho  (Er  Riha),  modern,  166, 

168,  170,  174,  175. 
Jericho  of  the  Crusaders,  168,  170. 
Jerome,  St.,  129,  130,  164,  169, 
178,  232. 

Grotto  of  St.,  129,  130. 
Jewish  cemeteries,  82,  85,  95 — 100. 
Jews  of  Jerusalem,  118. 

Wailing-place  of  the,  43. 
Jib,  El  (Gibeonof  Benjamin),  1S2, 
189,  190,  191,  196. 

Wady,  223,  224. 
Jiljul.  See  Gilgal. 
Jiljulieh,  172. 

Job's  Well  (Bir  Eyub),  2,  94,  loi, 
104,  113,  117,  120,  121. 

John  iii.  23,  240. 

Jordan,  155 — 167,  212. 
Source  of  the,  155. 

Joseph's  Tomb,    231,   233,  236, 
238,  240. 

Joshua's  spies,  171. 

Joshua's  Tomb  (Kefr  Haris),  233. 

Jufna  (Gophna),  179,  223,  224. 

Justin  Martyr,  125. 

Justinian's  buildings,  Jerusalem, 
47,  65. 

Restorations,  Bethlehem,  126. 


Kanah,  Wady,  229. 
Kasr  Hajla  (Beth  Hogla),  157,  159, 
162,  163. 
El  Yehud,  163,  168,  170. 
Kastal,  196. 

Kedron,  Valley  of,  2,  82,  86,  87, 

101,  117,  148. 
Kefr  Haris  (Tinmath  Heres),  233. 
Keilah,  204. 

Kelt,  El.    See  Wady  el  Kelt. 
Keruthim  (Kerlut),  232. 
Khamasa,  200. 

Khan  of  the  oil  merchants,  37,  71. 
Khureitun,  caverns  at,  142,  147. 
King's  Mountain,  the,  194,  209. 
Kirjath  of  Benjamin,  199,  200. 

Jearim,  195,  201. 
Knights  Templars,  6,  29,  31,  38. 
Kolonia,  Valley  of,  196. 

Village  of,  201,  202,  203,  204. 


Kubbet  es  Sakhra.    See  Dome  of 

the  Rock. 
Kuryet     el    'Anab.      See  Abu 

Ghosli. 


Latin    community,  Jerusalem, 
119. 

Latron,  195,  197,  201. 
Lebonah.    See  Lubban. 
Lentisk,  or  mastic,  195. 
Lifta,  2q8. 
Lisan,  El,  154,  156. 
Lubban,  226,  232. 

Wady,  228. 
Luz,  220. 


Maccabees,  the,   iSi,   194,  197, 

201,  218. 
Makom  (Mukam),  220,  235. 
Mangers,  Palestine,  125,  129. 
Manuscripts  found  at  Mar  Saba, 

149. 
Maon,  146. 

Mar  Elyas,  Convent  of,  122,  T69. 
Market-places,  Jerusalem,   i,  12, 

31—34.  37,  40- 
Mar  Saba,  Convent  of,  147 — 153, 

158. 

Martyrion,  the  Great  Basilica,  14. 
Mason's  marks,  47. 
Masonic  hall,  41. 

Masonry,  ancient,  6,  8,  38,  42,  46, 
47,  50,  51,  72,  115,  116. 

Massacre  at  Mar  Saba,  148. 

Merom  (Huleh),  156. 

Michmash  (Mukmas\  181,183,  184, 
185,  212. 

Milk  Grotto,  Bethlehem,  130,  135. 
Mill-stones,  136. 
Mispeh.    See  Neby  Samivil. 
Moab  Mountains,  4,  9,  122,  130, 

137,  152,  154,  188. 
Moat  of  the  Citadel,  Jerusalem, 

1,  5- 

Monasteries  destroyed  by  Chos- 

roes,  170. 
Monasteries  in  the  Plain  of  the 

Jordan,  168 — 179. 
Monastic  rules  at  Mar  Saba,  151. 
Mons  Offensionis,  94,  107. 
Montefiore's  buildings.  Sir  M.,  122. 
Moreh,  235. 

Mosaics,  Dome  of  the  Rock,  58,  66. 

Church  at  Bethlehem,  127. 
Mosque  of  Omar,  68. 

Of  the  Pillar,  235. 
Mount  of  Olives,  3,  8,  9,  57,  75,  85, 

88,  go,  91,  99. 
Mountain  warfare,  184,  209. 
Mountains  of  Judaea,  194 — 196. 
Mozah  (Beit  Mizzehi,  204. 
Muhammedan  cemeteries,  4,  46, 

67,  69,  89,  95,  102. 
Mukatir,  222. 

Mukhnah  Plain,  233,  237,  240. 


Nablus  (Shecliem),  239,  240. 
Nativity,  Church  of  the,  122,  124 

—130. 
Place  of  the,  125,  128. 
Nebo,  161,  212. 
Neby  Daud,  11,  12. 
Neby  Samwil  (Mizpeh),  4,  91,  182, 

186,  188,  189,  190,  208. 
Nephotah  (Lifta),  208. 
Nicopolis,  198,  200. 
Nob,  182,  213,  215. 


Oak-trees,  195,  233,  235,  240. 
Olive-trees,  121,  223. 
Olivet.    See  Mount  of  Olives. 
Omar,  170. 

Minaret  of,  35. 

Mosque  of,  68. 

Pulpit  of,  66. 
Ophrali,  184,  222. 
Oratories,  Haram  Enclosure,  53, 
70. 


Palmers,  136. 
Palm-trees,  137,  171. 


Palm-tree  of  Saint  Saba,  148,  153. 
Passes  of  Benjamin,  182. 
Paula,  Sta.,  232,  236. 
Phasaelus,  5,  7 — 11. 
Philip's  Fountain,  207,  210. 
Philistia,  196. 

Phinehas,  Tomb  of,  235,  238. 
Pilgrimages  to  the  Jordan,  162, 
165—167. 
Holy  Sepulchre,  23,  28. 
Tomb  of  Moses,  31. 
Pilgrims  in  Jerusalem,  14,  22,  31, 
32- 

Pool  of  Moses,  174. 
Population  of  Jerusalem,    118 — 
120. 

Prsetorium,  28. 

Protestant  community,  Jerusalem, 

119,  120. 
Psephinus,  Tower  of,  6,  80. 


QUARANTANIA,  141,  171,  173,  176, 

178— 181. 

Birds  of,  176. 

Cells  and  chapels  of,  176,  178. 
Quarries,  Jerusalem,  80,  84,  96. 


Rachel's  Tomb,  122,  123,  126. 

Rainfall,  Jerusalem,  101. 

Ramah  of  Benjamin  (Er  Ram), 
182,  189,  196,  214,  218. 

Ras  Sherifeh,  214. 

Rephaim,  Valley  of,  122. 

Rimmon,  the  Rock,  189,  222. 

Robinson's  Arch,  38,  41,  72,  75,  80. 

Roman  Catholic  community,  Jeru- 
salem, iig. 

Rosary  and  relic  m.akers,  16,  133, 
137,  138. 

Rose  of  Sharon,  208. 

Roses,  Valley  of  (Wady  el  Werd), 
208. 

Russian  buildings,  Jerusalem,  6, 

214. 
Ruth,  132,  133. 


Safieh,  155. 
Sakhra,  the,  60 — 62. 
Saladin,  15. 

Salem  (Salim  >,  237,  240. 
Samaria,  233. 

Samaritan  border  towns,  232. 
Samaritans,  235,  236. 

Kibleh  of  the,  240. 
Sarina,  Spring  of,  235. 
Sawieh,  228,  232,  233. 
Scene  of  Christ  weeping  over  Jeru- 
salem, 94. 

David's  flight,  145,  146,  204. 
Scopus,  4,  63,  67,  215. 
Sealed  fountain,  116,  139. 
Sebil  Kait  Bay,  53,  70. 
Seneh,  184,  217. 
Sennacherib,  185. 
Sepulchre  of  Christ,  14,  iS — 20, 

64,  100. 
Sha'afat  (Nob),  213,  215,  216 
Shalem,  240. 
Sharon,  Plain  of,  196. 
Shechem,  220,  232,  239,  240. 
Shephelah,  194. 

Shiloh,  225,  226,  229,  230 — 232. 
Shittim,  161. 

Shoemakers,  Jerusalem,  27,  34. 
Siloah,  112. 

Siloam  (Silwan),  83,  85,  94,  104,115. 

Pools  of,  77,  79,  103,  108. 
Sinjil  (Saint  Gilles),  228,  229. 
Soba,  196,  198,  201,  203. 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  157  160, 
161. 

Solomon's  Palace,  69. 

Pools,  48,  113,  138,  139,  141,  145. 

Stables,  49,  69. 
Sorek,  204. 
Stoa  Basilica,  39,  75. 
Stone  of  Destiny,  221. 
Streets  of  Jerusalem,  6,  7,  9,  12, 
34,  40. 

Subterranean  passages,  41,  42,  49. 
Summer  pulpit  of  the  Haram,  49, 
65. 

Sychar  ('Askar),  236,  237, 


Tablet  of  Herod's  Temple,  43,  76. 

Taiyibeh,  222,  224. 

Taleil  el  Ful,  184,  188,  208,  213, 

216,  218.  • 
Tekoa  (Tekua),  141. 
Tell  'Asur,  2j2. 
Tell  es  Safy,  204. 
Temple  of  Gerizim,  234,  238. 

Herod,  2,  39,  43,  68,  74—80. 
Templum  Domini,  44,  58,  62,  64. 
Terebinth-trees,  195,  204. 
Terrace  cultivation,  73. 
Theories    respecting   the   site  of 

the  Cities  of  the  Plain,  160, 

161. 

Sepulchre,  14,  20,  64,  100. 

Temple  and  Altar,  74,  77,  80. 
Threshing-floor,  132,  201,  237. 
Tomb  of  Caleb,  233. 

David,  II,  12,  100. 

Eleazar,  233,  235. 

Eli  and  his  Sons,  230. 

James,  St.,  82,  85,  97. 

Jerome,  129. 

Joseph,  231,  233,  236,  240. 

Joseph  of  Arimalhea,  100. 

Joshua,  233. 

Ithamar,  233,  235. 

Lazarus,  89. 

Nun,  233. 

Phinehas,  235. 

The  Virgin,  86,  87. 
Tombs,  description  of  various  kinds 

of,  95 — lOI,  146. 
Tombs  of  the  Judges,  96,  103. 

Kings,  96,  103. 

Prophets,  98. 

Valley  of  Hinnom,  98,  99,  105, 
106,  III,  114. 
Tophet,  115. 

Tower  of  David,  5,  7 — 11. 
Trees,  sacred,  235. 
Turks,  118. 

Tyroptjean,  2,  4,  6,  7,  39,  72,  104, 
112,  113. 

Urtas,  138,  140. 
Usdum,  156,  160,  224. 


Veils,  133. 

Via  Dolorosa,  24,  25,  26,  28,  29. 
Vine  culture,  196,  224. 
Virgin's  Fountain,  102,  104,  114. 


Wady  el  Askur  (Soldiers),  191. 

Beit  Hanina,  201 — 208. 

Byar,  114. 

El  Joz  (Nuts),  213. 

El  Kelt  (Cherith),  169,  175,  176, 
179,  180,  210,  211. 

Suleiman,  197. 

Suweinit,  183,  184. 

El  Werd  (Roses),  207,  208. 
Wailing-place,  41,  43. 
Walls  of  Jerusalem,  6,  12,  73,  75, 
80,  89,  93,  102,  115,  117. 

Ancient,  Si,  84. 
Warren's  Gate,  42,  75. 
Watch-towers,  195. 
Water  supply,  Jerusalem,  loi— 
118. 

For  Temple  service,  72 — 74. 
Well  of  David,  124,  134. 
The  Leaf,  68. 

Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  207. 
Wilderness  of  St.  John,  205,  206. 

Judsea,  2,  122. 
Wilson's  Arch,  42,  74,  So,  113. 
Woman  of  Samaria,  236. 
Women  grinding  corn,  127. 

Of  Bethlehem,  33,  127,  133,  134, 
135,  136. 

Of  Siloam,  32. 


Yafa  (Jaffa),  road  to,  195. 


Zacharlah,  Tomb  of,  82,  98. 
Zeboim.  161,  184. 
Ziph  (Zif),  145. 
Zoar,  160,  161. 
Zoreah  (Sur'ah),  204. 


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